Relations
by Brishton
Summary: It's been eight months since the monsters emerged from Mt. Ebott, and tensions are higher than ever. Can monsters and humans really live together in harmony? In an attempt to help the two worlds merge, Ambassador Frisk created a program placing a select group of human candidates with a host monster family for six months. The end results could determine the fate of all monsters.
1. Preparation

This was it. Today was the day. After an eternity of paperwork, research, and packing, all the pieces were falling into place. It was finally time to go.

And yet, Millie Webb found herself unable to join the procession of people lining up to board the plane.

She jumped a bit as a gentle hand squeezed her right shoulder, turning to see her mother looking down at her with a sympathetic smile. "Alright. You ready to go?"

Millie gave a half-grin and a shrug, hands tightening around her purple tote. "As ready as I'll ever be," she replied. That at least was the truth. She'd done everything in her power to make sure she'd be prepared for the journey ahead of her. That said, it felt far from being enough. "Just nervous, I guess."

That was putting it lightly. Millie's outer smile concealed the hysterical ball of anxious energy that was running rampant inside of her. She was about to jump headfirst into a completely different world and life without even an inkling as to whether or not it was actually a good idea. For all she knew, this could be the last time she ever saw her mother again. Millie wasn't nervous. She was scared out of her mind.

It had only been eight months since the world was once again reintroduced to monsterkind, and it was clear that things would never be the same. Perhaps the biggest surprise of all had come from the young human child, Frisk Dreemurr, who had led the monsters out of the Underground to the surface world. After doing so, they had established themselves as the official Ambassador between the humans and monsters, making it incredibly clear that the monsters were in fact here to stay. Of course, this garnered a rather large amount of negative backlash, which resulted in the government taking swift action (for once). They allotted Mt. Ebott and the surrounding area to the monsters as a sanctuary of sorts. It wasn't much, but it was a start. Soon after, the small town of Ebott sprung to life, the first monster settlement on the surface in centuries.

People were still skeptical, though. Could monsters and humans really live together? Many were keen to think not. Threats began to pour in against the town, resulting in military units being stationed in Ebott to serve as defensive units should anyone decide to attack the town. This did manage to decrease the amount of threats sent towards the monsters, but tensions still remained uncomfortably high.

It was then that Ambassador Frisk proposed their plan to help integrate monsters into the human world. One hundred human volunteers from all over the country would be sent to live in Ebott. Each person would be paired with a monster household that was willing to take in a human resident. From there, the humans would live with their monster hosts for six months. In that time, both humans and monsters would get to know each other and learn about the other's world. At the end, Ambassador Frisk and the human government would decide how to best proceed.

If all went well, a whole world of opportunities would open up for the monsters.

If, however, something went wrong…

Millie didn't want to think about that.

To her complete amazement, Millie had been chosen as one of the one hundred participants to represent humanity. Her mother had been wildly supportive of her, and Millie herself couldn't have been happier.

That had been two months ago.

Today was the day when the adventure would actually begin.

Millie's mother abruptly pulled her into a tight hug, which Millie gladly returned. "You're going to be fine," her mother reassured with the confidence only a mother could have. "You're a strong-willed person, even if you don't always think so. After all, it takes a lot of guts to even apply to being a part of this program. And out of the thousands of applications they received, they picked _you_. You can do this."

Millie let out a shaky laugh. "Mom, don't make me cry, I haven't even gotten on the plane yet." Millie could always count on her mother to tell her exactly what she needed to hear. She figured it must be a mom thing. It certainly wouldn't be the same, living without her mother's comforting embrace to turn to in her times of need. Even when she went to college, she was only ever a couple of hours away from home. This was completely new territory for her, and the thought of losing the one constant person in her life made Millie's stomach twist. She frowned. "I'm gonna miss you," she murmured.

"I'm gonna miss you too. Which is why you're going to text me the absolute minute you get off the plane, understand? And text me again when you get to your new home, too. I mean it. And if at any point you don't feel comfortable about who you're staying with or change your mind, give me a call, alright? This is all very new and experimental, and while I know you don't want to hear this, we don't really know how they'll react or if this whole intermingling thing will even work and-."

"Mom." Millie pulled away to look at her mother. Ah, the nagging had returned. This at least made the parting of ways a little bit easier. "Relax. I've got this." Oddly enough, when she said it this time, Millie actually believed it. She did have this. The thought made her stand a little straighter, feeling more confident.

The tension in her mother's shoulders released. "You're right," she replied with a soft smile. "I love you."

"I love you too," Millie responded, returning the smile.

Her mother sniffed. "Now go on. You've got a plane to catch."

With a nod and a nervous but determined gleam in her gray eyes, Millie turned and got into the boarding line, taking the first step towards a new chapter of her life.

The plane ride itself had been rather uneventful. Not that Millie minded. She enjoyed having the quiet time to mentally prepare herself for what was coming next. That said, she was immensely relieved once the plane finally did land. Heights had always made her nervous. Being as petite as she was, the vastness of the open air was quite intimidating, as if the enormity of it all would swallow her up whole.

Breathing a sigh of relief after getting off, glad to have her feet back on the ground, Millie looked around to locate where the baggage terminal was at. To her great dismay, this airport was much busier than the one she had previously come from. Grimacing, Millie clutched her tote close to her chest, tightened the straps of her lime green backpack, and plunged into the fray.

Being small had its pros and cons. One advantage was the ability to duck and weave through even the tiniest of gaps, allowing for Millie to nimbly work her way through the crowd. One disadvantage was the fact that even the slightest bump from a nearby person threatened to send her spiralling to the floor below, which nearly happened on a number of occasions. Usually, whomever she was with at the time served as an effective human shield, but today she was on her own. Millie found herself silently praying that the monsters she'd be staying with would be exceptionally vertically blessed, otherwise she would be in for a rough six months.

At last, Millie emerged from the crowd, gasping for air as though she had been submerged underwater for hours. God, she really hated crowds. Good thing Ebott was relatively small as opposed to most cities.

Taking a moment to send her mother a text announcing her arrival and fix herself by tightening her dirty blonde ponytail and straightening her dark green dress, Millie proceeded to go and collect the rest of her bags. It didn't take her long to spot them, but it did take her a while to get everything out to the shuttle pick-up. Millie found herself struggling to carry everything by herself, seeing as all of her luggage probably weighed as much as she did. To her great annoyance, she caught a number of people stopping to snicker at her plight. She huffed with frustration. Being tiny really did suck sometimes.

Eventually, Millie had to get over her stubbornness and get a cart to help. Once again she found herself hoping the monsters she'd been paired with weren't as weak as herself. Seeing as she occasionally needed help doing things as small as opening a water bottle, that would be a problem. Shaking her head, Millie tried to focus on the positive. Maybe they'd be really huge, like seven or eight feet. Maybe even ten! Or… maybe not. That was a bit of an intimidating height. Then she'd feel way too small. She was only five foot one. No, ten feet was definitely too tall.

Millie let out a yawn as she exited the airport building. Still, if by some chance she had gotten some ten-foot-tall monster, then she'd simply have to learn to cope. After all, calling it quits simply because she didn't like being dwarfed by her hosts was a pretty lame reason. Who knows, maybe she wouldn't mind the height difference so much. Now, if they were even _tinier_ than she was, that would definitely be-

Millie had become so lost in her own thoughts that it took a pair of hands clapping loudly in her face to snap her out of her daze. Startled, she jumped back with a squeak, hands gripping the luggage carrier.

"Good, that seemed to wake you up," huffed a girl about her age, the person responsible for Millie's mini panic attack. She casually flipped her golden blonde hair out of her face and grinned, her teeth almost too white. "If I hadn't stopped you, you'd have run over half the people here, and I don't think anyone would've appreciated that very much. Y'all must've been up awfully early to be as dead asleep on your feet as you are."

Millie blinked and rubbed her arm, suddenly self-conscious. Had she really been that zoned out? She was feeling a bit tired from the long morning. In fact, she probably should have tried to get some sleep on the plane ride. Now, she'd probably be dead by the time she got to her new home, and that certainly wouldn't make the best first impression. Ugh, she really should've thought this through better. Perhaps she could catch up on some rest on the bus ride. "Sorry," she mumbled, not really sure how to reply to the strange clapping girl before her.

The girl laughed loudly in response, causing Millie to wince, and waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. After all, no harm done, right? Just try to pay attention to where you're goin', 'kay?"

"Heh, yeah." Millie edged her way around the girl, eager to get away. She had a bus to get to, and there was no way she was going to come out all this way just to end up missing it because of some random girl.

The girl, however, was not pleased with this development. She placed herself back in front of Millie's cart, much to Millie's annoyance. "Whoa there. Where're you off to in such a hurry?"

Millie took a deep breath, doing her best to remain polite. Why was this girl holding her up? Didn't she have a bus to get to as well? "I sort of have a bus to catch," she replied flatly, stating the seemingly obvious. Why else would she be here?

"Well I figured that," the girl retorted, her head bobbing. "Just seems like an awful lot of stuff for one person, especially someone as small as you. Must be a long way from home, huh?"

"Florida," Millie answered, genuinely surprised by the observation. Well that was unexpected. Seems the girl was more observant than Millie had given her credit for. Great. She was going into an environment where not judging people at face value was critical, and she was already failing with her own species. Clearly Ambassador Frisk had made a wise decision by picking her to represent humanity. "You?"

"Texas," she replied with a wide grin. Ah, that explained the accent. The girl's face scrunched up. "Now if I didn't know any better, I'd guess you were getting ready to head off to Ebott. Am I right or wrong?"

Jeez, was this girl some sort of psychic? "Yeah, how'd you know?"

The girl laughed again. "Because I'm in the same boat as you, girl!" She stuck out a hand. "Bellatrice Potts, professional human, at your service!"

Bellatrice. That was certainly a quirky name. Then again, she was one to talk. Millie returned the handshake. "Millie Webb, nice to meet you." At least now she could say she knew one person in Ebott besides her hosts. Hopefully this would be a continuing trend; her social skills had always been lackluster. "Are the buses here yet?"

Bellatrice shook her head. "Nah, else I'd be on one of them." Oh yeah. Right. "I heard they'd only be about another ten minutes or so, though, if y'all wanna head on over that way?" Millie nodded and followed after her new companion, grateful to have someone able to guide her through the throng of people standing about.

It wasn't long before the two found the bus-less terminal and sat down on the sidewalk, luggage at their side. A good sized crowd had already formed around them with more gathering by the minute. It suddenly struck Millie just how many people would be going on the same crazy journey she was about to embark on. Not just that, but there were so many _different_ people. She spotted a lot of people around her age, but all demographics were pretty well represented. She was surprised to even spot a few seniors standing about. The only notable absence were children. One of the qualifications was that participants must be at least age eighteen. For now, the government was choosing to play it safe and keep children out of the equation, lest something go horribly awry. Millie silently wondered if the day would come when human families would be allowed into the settlement.

"God, I can't believe this is really happening," Bellatrice mused, goofy grin still plastered on her face. "It's all so exciting! We're like...the pioneers! Venturing into uncharted territory."

"Hopefully unlike them, we won't die of dysentery first," Millie replied, which got a loud snort out of Bellatrice.

"Yeah, that'd suck for sure. Definitely not fun." Bellatrice paused. "I wonder what they'll be like."

"The monsters?"

"Yeah!"

Millie shrugged. "Like...people I guess?"

"Yeah, but with, like, fangs and fur and stuff."

"And scales."

"And claws."

Bellatrice paused. "I really can't wait, though. As soon as they announced this whole experiment thing, I knew I had to be a part of it." Millie looked up at her. There was a certain spark in Bellatrice's hazel eyes, a strange sort of glow. Passion. "I love meeting people, making friends. Don't really matter what their background is; the weirder and more diverse, the better, in my book. Seeing how different folks live and think, it fascinates me. So, when I heard that I had a chance to live with a monster? Y'all better believe I was doing paperwork like it was nobody's business." She let about a laugh before her smile shrank a bit. "My folks weren't really too thrilled about me doing this, though. A lot of people in general aren't. They say some of the nastiest things about the monsters, especially where I'm from. That what we're doing isn't right, and that they should all just go back beneath the mountain where they came from, or just be flat out killed all together." Her smile was gone now. "It's hurts to know that people think like that. That being different is enough to make people hate." She sighed. "I just feel that everyone, no matter how different, can understand each other, you know? That if we'd just take the time to really listen to each other, we'd see we're all much more alike than anyone had imagined. We just have to try is all."

Millie watched as Bellatrice went silent. After a moment of hesitation, she placed a hand on Bellatrice's arm. "Well, that's kind of what we're here for, right? To help people understand?"

Bellatrice smiled softly at her. "Yeah, least I sure hope so."

They sat in mutual silence for a moment.

"So," Bellatrice said at last, injecting some life back into her voice, "What about you?"

Millie blinked. "Me?"

"Yeah, what's your story, girl? Gotta be here for some reason, right?"

Millie looked down at the ground in front of her, rubbing her arms. "I haven't exactly done much with my life thus far."

Bellatrice snorted beside her. Millie looked up with a frown. "What?"

"Of course you haven't done much with your life yet, you've barely begun it!" she replied. "How old're you?"

"Twenty."

This caused Bellatrice to raise an eyebrow. "Really? I had you pegged for eighteen, but I still stand by my statement. I'm twenty-three myself, and I couldn't be happier with the amount of nothing I've accomplished. I'm just setting myself up so I can do something real big when I'm older, rather than focus on trying to do a bunch of little things now."

Huh. Millie had to admit to herself, Bellatrice certainly had a unique outlook on things. She was a bit loud and chatty, but Millie found herself liking her. Ambassador Frisk definitely made a good call choosing her.

Shaking her head, Millie continued, "Anyways, I've always sort of struggled to make lasting connections. Fit in. I mean, I'm generally well-liked by most people, but it's all surface level, you know? I don't really have any real friends that I hang out with or anything. I never have. So, I figured, hey, if I can't fit in with humans, then maybe I can with monsters." She laughed humorlessly. "Sounds pretty lame, huh?"

"Are you kidding?" Millie suddenly found an arm wrapped around her shoulders. Bellatrice smiled down at her warmly. "That sounds like a perfectly normal reason to me. In fact, I bet there's a good number of folks here for that very same reason."

"Really?"

"Sure! Hate to break it to you, but you ain't the only one who suffers from loneliness," Bellatrice replied, grinning. "It's kind of in human nature to seek out companionship, even if it's with non-humans. I mean, why else do you think we have pets?"

"Good point," Millie agreed. Maybe she wasn't as pathetic as she had thought. Or, maybe she was, but there were a lot of people just as pathetic, so it was all okay.

She decided to change the subject. "How many monsters are you staying with?"

"Uh, two? Hang on." With a frown, Bellatrice began digging through her purse, muttering something about organization. Millie was suddenly glad she had taken the time to sort everything out neatly beforehand. She eventually pulled out a card similar to the one Millie had and squinted at it. "Yeah, two. 'Grillby' and 'Embry'. You?"

"Same. Two, I mean." Millie pulled out her own card and showed it to Bellatrice. All of the human participants had received a card identifying the monster/s they'd be staying with, but in order to prevent any possible prejudices from forming in advance, the cards simply listed names. While she understood their reasoning, Millie kind of wished she knew more about who'd she be living with. For all she knew, she could be staying with a pair of talking rabbits or swamp monsters. She didn't even know any basic information about them, like what sex they were (assuming they had one; she had learned through research that many monsters reproduce asexually) or how old they were. Knowing something, _anything_ , would have helped her prepare more, or at least given her an idea of what to expect. It put her on edge a bit and made her feel woefully inadequate for the situation at hand. At the same time though, it was kind of exciting. The thought of discovering what her new monster family would be like had kept Millie's imagination running wild over the past several months, and now she was finally about to get some answers. She couldn't wait to meet them, whoever and whatever they were.

"Man," Bellatrice mused as Millie carefully placed her card back in her backpack, "Monsters sure have weird names." She paused. "Then again, they probably think the same about us. Besides, what's really in a name, huh? I'm sure they're all real great folks, even if their names are a bit funny."

Millie didn't reply. She certainly hoped that would prove to be the case. That had been her biggest fear all along: her hosts not liking her. She didn't consider herself very good at changing people's perspectives of her, so if her monster hosts didn't like her from day one, she didn't know what she'd do. Well, besides crying, because there would definitely be plenty of that done behind closed doors. On top of that, the eyes of the entire world were watching her. If she and the rest of the participants couldn't prove that monsters and humans could live together in harmony, then it would spell disaster for all of monsterkind. Knowing that the weight of an entire civilization rested upon her shoulders was not a comforting feeling in the slightest. What if she let them down? How would she live with herself?

Millie rubbed her arms anxiously. There was no point in getting stressed out over the future, at least not yet. The fate of monsters and humans would be determined another day. For now, though, all she could do was sit and wonder a bit longer about the two names on her card.

 _Papyrus_

 _Sans_


	2. Determination

_**FOREWORD:**_

 _Oh man, oh geez. HI everyone. Um, wow, this was unexpected. I definitely did not anticipate receiving this much interest and positive feedback, so thank you all so much. This is the first thing I've written in about five or six years, so to see so many people excited about what I have to write is pretty amazing. No joke. So um, YEAH. Thanks for deciding to take this journey with me, and I hope you enjoy where it goes!_

* * *

"MillieMillieMillie! Wake up! Wake up!"

" _Ahhh!_ "

Millie sprung up in her seat, eyes wide with panic. She was greeted with Bellatrice's face a mere inch or two from her own. "Hi."

"Augh!" Millie cried out once more, leaping back in surprise. "What? What is it?" Much to her relief, she had managed to fall asleep shortly after getting on the bus, and after Bellatrice's surprise awakening, all traces of exhaustion were gone. At least she didn't have to worry about falling asleep on her monster hosts anymore. She placed a hand over her rapidly beating heart in an futile attempt to calm it down. Seriously, what was _with_ this girl? Did she not know the definition of personal space?

Bellatrice, oblivious to Millie's state of panic, threw her hands up in the air and danced in her seat. "We're _here!_ " she cried out in a sing-song voice.

Millie blinked, the words hitting her. "We're here?"

"WE'RE HERE!"

Millie spun towards the window on her left and shoved her face up against the glass. Sure enough, the bus was just now driving past a large sign that read "Welcome To Ebott!" in big, purple letters. She faced forward once more, hands slapped to her cheeks in disbelief. "We're here!" she repeated dumbly, her mind unable to process anything else.

Bellatrice laughed manically beside her, clapping her hands like a giddy child and squealing with delight. Millie had a sneaking suspicion she was not the only one on the bus who had been abruptly awoken by her friend's excitement, but she couldn't find it in herself to be annoyed. In fact, had she not been too embarrassed to do so, Millie probably would have been having a similar reaction. Instead, she simply grinned in stunned silence, though on the inside, her body felt like some crazy pinball machine, lights flaring and balls bouncing all over the place at rapid fire speeds in an excited madness.

After months of waiting and preparing, everything was at long last really happening.

They were here.

* * *

"Welcome to Ebott, humans!"

The crowd of one hundred cheered with the energy of a thousand.

After getting off the buses, the candidates had been escorted inside the town's mini-stadium. It wasn't anything extravagant, but the citizens certainly got their use out of it. Well, at least the famous robot Mettaton did; his insane, over-the-top shows made up the majority of performances that were held there. Although she wouldn't readily admit it, Millie secretly hoped she'd get to see him on stage at least once during her stay in Ebbott. Now _that_ would be a real treat indeed.

From behind her, Millie could hear the loud chatter of the press as they rapidly took picture after picture and hurriedly scribbled down every minute detail of the scene. She was also acutely aware of the numerous cameras capturing the event live and broadcasting it to millions around the globe. No doubt her mother would be watching back home. She rubbed her arms self-consciously and fixed her dress. The thought that people from all over the world were watching her right then made her stomach twist in all sorts of uncomfortable knots. She hoped that they would leave soon so she could think straight, because with so many watching eyes, she was having a hard time keeping her head from spinning.

Bellatrice, for her part, didn't seem fazed by the commotion occurring behind them in the least. Millie found herself envying the way she could stand there and not appear to be bothered by the press in the slightest. Bellatrice's eyes were wide and glued to the stage before them, grin as big as ever. Honestly, Millie couldn't blame her.

Ambassador Frisk beamed down at the crowd before them. Millie couldn't help but feel awestruck when looking at them. She knew they were young (she was pretty sure they were eleven when they emerged from the Underground with the entire monster race in tow, but they could very well be twelve by now), but it was only now, seeing them in person, that she realized just how young they really were. It was hard to imagine the child behind the podium being the savior of monster-kind. And yet, there was a strange wiseness to them, a certain knowing look in their eyes. They stood with an air of confidence equal to any world leader, and they commanded the attention of all in the room seemingly without trying. It was like they were ages older than they really were.

"Millie, pardon my asking, but is the Ambassador a boy or a girl?" Bellatrice whispered.

Millie shrugged. "Neither. Or maybe both? I honestly don't know. They prefer to use gender-neutral terms, though."

"Ah, gotcha. Either way, the kid's a lil' cutie."

That had been another interesting cause of hate from the human populace. For some reason, the fact that the Ambassador refused to adopt a specific gender was enough to get a good number of people riled up. Millie hated the idea that such a young child was being attacked for something as simple as what gender pronoun they preferred. Man, humans really did suck sometimes.

"I cannot stress how proud I am that we have made it this far," Ambassador Frisk continued with a grin. "In a few moments, for the first time in countless centuries, humans and monsters will be living together in peace." Another cheer broke out, causing the Ambassador's smile to grow. "Like monsters, each and every one of you is different. You all come from different walks of life. But there is one thing that unites you all, one defining factor that resulted in you being selected out of the thousands of others who applied.

"Determination.

"As I look upon you, I see the very essence of human determination in all of your faces. The determination to learn. The determination to grow. The determination to change. Seeing this, there is no doubt in my mind that you will accomplish all of this and more during your stay.

"Today marks the beginning of a new era for both monsters and humans, and the eyes of the entire world will bear witness to it. They will watch as you learn, as you grow, as you change, and by watching you, they in turn will learn, they will grow, they will change.

"There will be those who are stubborn, those unwilling to listen, who will lash out because they don't understand. I can promise you safety within this town, but I cannot shield you from the hate of the world. I will not lie, by volunteering yourselves, you have accepted a heavy burden.

"But in my heart I know, seeing you all here now, that your determination will lead us, humans and monsters alike, through the dark and uncertain times that lie ahead. You will pave the way for future generations so that one day, no matter where on the earth you may be, you will find monsters and humans living their lives together in harmony.

"So on behalf of every monster, I say welcome to Ebott, humans! Welcome!"

Everyone lost it. The roaring applause reverberated throughout the arena, filling the room with an uncontrollable amount of excitement. For once, even Millie didn't restrain herself and cheered as loudly as she could, though she was still no match for Bellatrice who was in the process of losing every marble she had ever owned.

Ambassador Frisk exhaled deeply and stepped back from the podium, looking pleased with themselves. Millie couldn't blame them. The speech was sure to be all over the news for days, perhaps even weeks to come. Dang. The kid really knew how work a crowd. No wonder they were the representative of all monsters.

A towering, white goat-like monster with a golden beard dressed in purple garb strode forward next, sending a proud smile down to the Ambassador as he did so. Millie recognized him as Asgore Dreemurr, former king of the monsters. The human government hadn't been keen on having to work with a monarch in their own country, so it was to their great relief when the king had stepped down of his own accord. Though his reasons for doing so were unknown, he didn't appear to be troubled by the action. In fact, it would seem he was actually grateful to relinquish the responsibility that came from being a king. Millie could only imagine how hard it must have been to have an entire civilization of defeated people look to you for guidance for goodness knew how long. She hoped he was happy now that that weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

"Whoa, he's huge," whispered Bellatrice from the side, and Millie nodded in agreement. "He looks real nice though. I kinda wanna go up there and give him a big hug." Millie shushed her, though she did so with a smile. She kind of wanted to hug Asgore too, though she'd never tell anyone that.

Due to his incredible height, Asgore had to bend down to bring himself to the microphone. A couple of people giggled at the sight. He smiled. "Welcome, humans," he greeted once more with a warm, deep voice. "We are now ready for you to meet your hosts." Everyone perked up instantly upon hearing this. "Do not fret, your luggage has already been accommodated for and has been properly distributed to your respective families. If you all would please proceed through the doors on your left, we will check you in and you may all be on your way. Thank you very much."

An excited murmur broke out amongst the crowd as everyone began to move forward. Millie felt a nudge from her side and looked over to see Bellatrice smiling sadly at her. Why did she look like that? Hadn't she just been on cloud nine a few moments before? "Well, I guess this is it huh?" she said.

Oh.

Millie felt a pang of sadness as realized that in a moment she'd part ways with her new friend and that she was going to miss having Bellatrice by her side. She liked the girl and had grown to enjoy her companionship in the brief time they'd been together. Losing her so soon felt wrong. "Yeah, I guess so," she replied after a moment.

"We'll definitely see each other around though, right?" Bellatrice asked hopefully.

Millie nodded firmly, grinning. In the past, she would have simply moved on and eventually forgotten about Bellatrice. But now, she was ready to make lasting friendships, and this was one person she wanted to make that change in lifestyle with. "Definitely."

Without warning, Bellatrice lept forward and wrapped her long, slender arms around Millie's tiny frame, squeezing her tight. "I'm telling you right now, no matter what craziness lies ahead, we're gonna have each other. Got that?" She didn't wait for a response before pulling back and smiling, looking into Millie's eyes. "Now let's not keep those monsters waiting any longer and go meet them. You heard the Ambassador. It's time to go and change the world with some human determination."

She held out a hand, and Millie took it.

Together, they marched forward towards their new lives, the newly formed bonds of friendship burning brightly between the two of them.


	3. Papyrus

Millie and Bellatrice walked through the giant doors to find themselves in a rather large, open room. A short distance away was a table with three smiling monsters seated behind it. In front of each of the monsters was a small line of humans, some looking excited while others appeared to be nervous. One by one, the participants walked away and past the table toward a decent sized crowd of monsters, waiting to meet their human guests. Millie scanned their faces, trying to see if she could guess which of them might be her hosts.

"They're all so different," Bellatrice murmured as they slowly walked forward, taking the scene in together. "Heh, I kinda wonder if they'll be able to tell us apart." Millie hadn't even thought about that. Compared to the monsters, humans looked so...dull. Similar. The image of her monster hosts mistaking someone else for her crossed her mind. She rubbed her arms.

"They look...nervous," Millie observed, surprised. While some of the monsters appeared to be quite eager to greet their guests, a large number eyed the humans with skeptical eyes, shifting back and forth and muttering amongst themselves.

Bellatrice frowned. "Makes sense. They're probably just as anxious as we are. In fact, they're probably _more_ so."

Millie turned to her. "Why's that?"

"Think about it. They got banished to the Underground for centuries by the humans. And now they're willingly taking one into their own home. Not to mention that if anything goes wrong, things could turn out pretty nasty for them." Bellatrice looked over to Millie, her face grim. "If I were them, I'd be nervous too."

They fell silent after that. When they reached the lines, it was with a sad smile that they let go of the other's hand and separated, Millie choosing the one in the middle while Bellatrice went for the one on the far right. She reminded herself that the parting was only temporary; she _would_ see Bellatrice again. For now, though, she had a pair of monsters to meet.

Millie watched the candidates look for and eventually find their monster hosts while she waited in line, slowly shuffling forward. There were a lot of awkward hellos and handshakes, but most of the interactions seemed to end in smiles from both parties. She rubbed her arms, hoping that would be the case for her as well.

God, why was she acting like this? This was it! This was everything she had been waiting for! She should be excited, she should be ecstatic! Just... _something_ besides this paranoid state of nervousness. Perhaps it was the fact that everything she had imagined for the past several months was finally becoming a reality. Now, there was no turning back, no changing her mind. She had crossed the point of no return.

At last, Millie was at the front of the line. She hesitantly took a step forward and approached the table. Smiling warmly up at her was a...deer lady (?). She wore a bright pink bow on her head and a matching dress. Millie spotted a nametag. _Fawna._ "Hi there!" Fawna greeted cheerily. "Welcome to Ebott!"

"Thanks," Millie replied with a small smile, absentmindedly playing with her dress.

"Can I get your name please?"

"Millie Webb."

Fawna peered down at a list in front of her for a moment before finding Millie's name and checking it off. "May I see your ID?" Millie obliged. Fawna checked it carefully before handing it back and carefully scribbling down something else Millie couldn't make out.

"Okay, and can I get the names of your monster host and or hosts really quick?"

Millie took a breath. "Papyrus and Sans."

Fawna cocked an eyebrow at this but said nothing, simply scanning another list and marking a few things. Millie wondered whether she should take this as a sign that her hosts had a reputation. Hopefully it was a good one.

"...Alright! Now if I could just have you sign your name here and here, I'll send you back there to meet them, 'kay?" Millie nodded and did as she was asked. She paused for a moment to look at her signature. What with all the paperwork she'd been filling out lately, she'd gotten quite good at signing her name. It was a little detail, but it made her feel a tinge of pride nonetheless.

"Great!" beamed Fawna, taking the forms back. "Alright, you're good to go, Millie. I hope you enjoy your stay!" Millie sent her a shy thank you and stepped out of line, walking around the table to go and meet her hosts.

This was it. No turning back now.

Slowly, Millie approached the crowd. Each step forward made her heart beat faster. There were so many monsters, _too_ many monsters looking at her with curious eyes. Oh God, why were they all looking at _her_? She rubbed her arms, eyes scanning the crowd. How would she find her hosts? They could be anyone. They could be any _thing_. How was she going to-

"Oh. MY God. I. LOVE your dress!"

Millie squeaked and nearly leaped out of her skin. She spun around to see a large purple cat grinning at her with wide eyes. "Um, thanks," she replied uncertainly, trying to recover.

The cat girl gasped, bringing her paws to her face. "Ohmigosh. Are you Brenda? Ohmigosh you're _totally_ Brenda!"

"Wha-?"

"Catty, don't be, like, ridiculous." Millie turned to see an alligator girl had joined them. " _Obviously_ that's John."

"What? Like, no way. John's a boy name, and this is, like, totally a girl human, Bratty."

"Well, maybe she has a boy name!" Bratty fought back.

Catty gasped and looked at Bratty in shock. "Can humans do that? Can they have different gender names?"

"Like, I don't see why not?"

Catty looked as though her mind had been expanded. "Wow." She paused. "Well it doesn't matter anyways, because she's _Brenda_ , not _John._ "

"Actually, I'm neither," Millie spoke up, finally having recovered enough from her initial scare. The two whipped their heads around to look at her, as if suddenly remembering she was there. "Sorry."

Bratty and Catty's shoulders drooped. "Oh." There was a pause. "Kay, well bye!" they said in unison, perking right back up.

Millie walked away, head still reeling, when a giant bird creature jumped in front of her. "Hello! _Ice_ to meet you! Are you Andrew?"

"No, sorry," Millie replied politely, feeling her nerves start to grip her. She backed up from the monster and looked around. Where were her monsters? Were they those two bunnies over there? Or perhaps those dogs?

She accidentally backed into a big blue bear, but before she could think to ask if it was one of her hosts she noticed it had been talking to its human guest. "Oh, sorry," Millie apologized quickly, backing away.

"Um?" She began spinning around, searching monsters' faces for help. She should ask someone. But who to ask? There were so many monsters, who could she ask?

She began to rub her arms, panic taking hold. The other participants she'd seen had found their monster just fine. Why was she having so much trouble finding hers?

The voices around her began to cloud her brain, making the room spin a bit. Her head felt dizzy. Which way should she look? Which way should she turn?

Millie felt her face heating up. How was she going to find them? What if she never found them? Tears began to prick at her eyes. What if they weren't even here? What if she found herself alone in this room because her hosts had changed their minds last second? What would she do then? Where would she go?

There were so many monsters.

So many monsters.

Too many monsters.

Too many-

With a yelp, Millie crashed into someone and tumbled to the floor, face-down.

There was a loud gasp from above. "Oh my gosh! Tiny human! Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"N-no, I'm fine, thank you," Millie sniffed, struggling to get up. Oh great. Perfect time for her clumsiness to kick in. Now she had really gone and made a fool of herself. At least she hadn't gone and hurt herself too badly. She doubted her hosts would want a broken human. That would truly make her an in-

Abruptly, Millie felt a pair of hands gently grab her, and before she could protest she was hoisted into the air and placed back on her feet. The sight that greeted her was a worried looking skull inches away from her own face. With a start and a squeak, Millie took several steps back, arms raised defensively.

The concerned look on the skeleton's face grew as it tried to put on a reassuring smile. "No, no! Do not be alarmed, human! I, the Great Papyrus, do not wish to harm you!"

Millie froze. Her arms lowered slightly. "...Pa...pyrus?"

The skeleton straightened up to its (no...his.) full height, smiling brightly. "Yes! Papyrus! That is in fact my name!" he declared, striking a heroic stance.

"You're...Papyrus?"

Papyrus's smile fell slightly. He shifted his weight a bit awkwardly. "Erm...yes?"

Oh.

Okay.

Papyrus lit up suddenly. "Wait! Does that mean you are Mill-EYE?" he asked eagerly.

Millie blinked. "Um, actually, it's Mill-EE. But uh. Yeah. That's me," she replied, rubbing her arms.

Papyrus's smile faltered. "Ah, I see."

Silence.

A skeleton.

A _skeleton._

Okay.

Sure.

Why not?

In an attempt to break the awkward tension, Millie tentatively stuck out her hand. "Well...Papyrus...it's very nice to meet you," she said, smiling up at him.

The gesture seemed to work, for Papyrus beamed with giddy excitement. He took Millie's small hand in his much larger one and shook it. "It is very nice to meet you too, Mill-EE!"

Millie giggled at his enthusiasm, wincing a bit at how loud the skeleton was. That was going to take some getting used to. She wondered if he was always this loud. A gut feeling told her the answer was yes.

Still, at least he was friendly. Friendly was good. And he was tall. Tall was _very_ good.

This wasn't so bad.

She could do this.

Millie paused. Something felt...wrong. She frowned. Why did she have this nagging feeling that something was off?

Suddenly, it hit her. "So, um, I'll be staying with two of you, right?" she asked a bit awkwardly.

Papyrus's eyes (or rather, his eye sockets) widened. "Yes! You will be staying with me and my brother, Sans!"

Silence.

Millie looked around. "Is he...is he here?"

Papyrus gave her a baffled look. "Why yes of course! He's right-"

His sentence was cut short when he turned to his right and found only an empty space. He stared at the spot, as if his continued gaze would somehow make his brother magically appear. Unless Sans was invisible, it didn't seem to work.

"Huh," Papyrus said after a moment. He glanced nervously at Millie. "I'm...sure he is around here somewhere. He does this a lot, wandering off and such without warning, though I really wish he wouldn't…"

Feeling sympathetic, Millie looked around for what she assumed would be another skeleton, but to her dismay saw no one. "Maybe he went to the bathroom?" she offered hopefully, though as soon as the words came out of her mouth she realized how foolish they sounded. "Oh yeah, right. Monster. No need to use...the bathroom."

A bell tone chimed suddenly, and Papyrus's hands flew to his pocket. He pulled out a cell phone and stared at it for a moment. Millie hardly had enough time to process the fact that she was looking at a skeleton with a smart phone when he replaced the device, laughing nervously. Beads of sweat somehow began to form on his skull. It was an odd sight that Millie definitely wanted to ask about, but she opted to to shelve that thought for another time and focus on the dilemma at hand.

"Is...everything alright?" Millie asked carefully.

Papyrus hesitated. "My brother...he...it seems he went home."

Oh.

Millie bit her lip. "Was he...not feeling well?"

Papyrus looked down and began to play with his hands. He looked troubled. "I'm...not sure," he replied, though something told Millie that he wasn't telling her everything.

Well then.

This was just great. It seemed she had been ditched by one of her hosts before she had even met him. Perfect. So much for everything the Ambassador had said about changing the world and such. Millie stared down at the ground, practically begging it to open up and save her from this living nightmare of a scenario. Clearly this Sans guy didn't want her here. Not that she could really blame him. She didn't deserve to be here, what had she even been thinking? Maybe she should just look into catching a bus back to the airport and head back home. Then she wouldn't have to be a bother to the skeletons brothers anymore.

Papyrus glanced up and, upon seeing Millie's defeated face, quickly tried to regain his composure. "D-don't worry, huma-uh-Millie! Why don't we head on home and get you settled in, and then you can meet Sans there?"

Millie looked up at him. Their gazes locked. His expression was a mixture of hopeful and pleading. He was trying so hard. He really wanted this to work. She realized that she did too.

With a small, weak smile, Millie nodded.

Papyrus's face lit up like a Christmas tree, as if Millie had just handed him the greatest present in the whole wide world. "Wonderful!" he cried out with delight. He spun on his heels and looked over his shoulder. "Follow me, then! Don't worry about your bags, I have already placed them carefully in my car! Nyeh heh heh!"

Millie hurried after Papyrus, having to walk quickly to keep up with the skeleton's long strides. His mood seemed to be improving the more he talked, so she decided to keep him going. "Is your house far from here?" she asked as the pair exited the building.

"Oh no, not at all! I would say it's only about a fifteen minute drive, really." It seemed that most if not all of the tension from before had dissipated. "I bet we'll get home and find Sans asleep on the couch. He does that a lot. Sleep, I mean. He's such a lazybones, I just don't understand him sometimes."

Lazybones? Millie wondered if that meant Papyrus was active. He didn't exactly have a figure to maintain or anything. Perhaps it was for endurance? That seemed logical enough. She hoped he wouldn't try to make her become more active as well. Though she probably needed it, Millie was not at all a fan of exercise. If push came to shove, perhaps she could convince him that walking would be sufficient. Walking around Ebott seemed like a pleasant enough prospect.

"Aha! Here we are!" Papyrus stopped in front of a bright red sports car and began fiddling with the keys.

Millie simply stared. The skeleton had a sports car. And a cell phone. This was normal.

Papyrus opened the door for her and she thanked him, taking a seat and buckling up. He quickly joined her, sitting down driver's seat. He took a moment to fasten his seatbelt as well, in addition to checking all of his mirrors and gauges. "Don't worry, Millie! I am a very safe driver and promise to use the utmost care while on the road with you."

Oddly enough, she believed him. Millie smiled. "I trust you." She hadn't thought it possible, but Papyrus's smile seemed to grow even bigger.

The car pulled out of the parking lot and got onto the road. True to his word, Papyrus was an exceptionally responsible driver. It was reassuring. Millie knew she was in good hands.

She looked around the town in awe as they sped past, trying to take in as much as possible before it whizzed by in a blur. Ebott was really quite pretty. There were trees and flowers everywhere. It was mid-fall, so the leaves had begun to change, making the town all the more vibrant. Millie had never actually seen the full extent of autumn beauty before; back in Florida, either the leaves were green or dead on the ground. There really wasn't any sort of in-between period. It was a pleasant change of pace.

"Ah, yes!" said Papyrus, not taking his eyes of the road. "Taking in the scenery, I see? I do not blame you! This town truly is a magnificent feast for the eyes! Nyeh heh!"

Millie nodded. "It's beautiful," she agreed. "I can't imagine it was like this in the Underground."

"Nope! Especially not in Snowdin. That's where my brother and I lived. There, it was perpetually snowing!"

"Snowing?" Millie's face scrunched up at this. "How can it snow under a mountain?"

Papyrus shrugged, not appearing to be too worried about it. "I have no idea! Maybe Sans would know. He's always doing that sciencey stuff of his."

Huh. So Sans was into science. Millie filed that tidbit away for later use.

"I've never seen snow before," she admitted.

"What?!" Papyrus exclaimed in horror, though his gaze never left the road in front of him. Millie jumped at the sudden outburst. She was _really_ going to have to get used to that. "How can you have never seen snow?!"

Millie shrugged. "I'm from Florida. It's too hot to snow there."

Papyrus frowned heavily. "Well we will certainly have to change that!"

Millie laughed. "Well, I'll be here during the winter, so I guess I'll see it then."

Papyrus's face lit up. "That you will! Oh my gosh! You are going to see snow for the first time! Wowie! This is so amazing, I can hardly wait!"

He launched into a giddy ramble about how wonderful snow was, describing everything from snowflake shape and size to snowball fights and so on. Millie merely smiled and sat back, idly listening while watching as the shops and stores faded away into houses and homes. They must be getting close by now. After all, Papyrus said that it was only about a fifteen minute drive. She began to absentmindedly rub her arms.

"I know you must be nervous about meeting my brother." Millie's head snapped to Papyrus, having been startled out of her daze. She hadn't realized it but he had stopped talking about snow some time ago. Millie mentally scolded herself for not noticing, feeling embarrassed. "After all," he continued, "My brother is pretty great. It's only natural that one would be nervous about meeting someone so awesome. But you are awesome as well, Millie! I am certain that when he sees you, he will recognize that awesomeness and you two will be the best of friends!"

Millie couldn't help but smile at his optimism. For someone lacking one, he sure had a big heart. "Thank you, Papyrus. That makes me feel a lot better." Papyrus perked up, pleased at having helped his new friend.

Millie turned back to gaze out the window. Maybe Papyrus was right. Maybe once she properly introduced herself and talked to him a bit, Sans and her would get along just fine. After all, it wasn't as if she had done anything wrong to make him mad at her, right? And with a brother as amiable as Papyrus, he couldn't be too bad. She was just being paranoid. Everything would be fine.

That was the thought she clung to the rest of the drive home.


	4. Sans

"Well, here we are!" Papyrus declared as he parked the car in the driveway. "My house! And, now by extension, your house!"

Millie looked up at the building in front of her. It wasn't anything too outlandish or fancy, just a simple white two-story house. The front lawn was well-kept, and there were even a few flower beds lining the home. It was actually a tad off-putting how _normal_ it was. Then, Millie noticed the Jolly Roger waving triumphantly from the flagpole. She smirked. Ah, there was that lovely bit of skeleton charm. "It's nice," she told him.

While Papyrus quickly got out and began removing the luggage from the trunk, humming and upbeat tune with the occasional, "Nyeh heh heh," thrown in, Millie took her time. Now that they were here, she had started to get nervous about meeting Sans again. Why couldn't he just be at the meet-and-greet like everyone else? Then she'd have gotten this all out of the way and wouldn't have anything else to worry about. Well, that's not entirely true. She probably would have found something to worry about. She _always_ found something to worry about.

Millie frowned. Maybe she was being too harsh on Sans. Maybe he was just as nervous to meet her. That didn't sound too farfetched. Perhaps that's why he had come home; he was just really shy is all. Maybe he didn't like crowds and wanted to meet her in a more personal and less public place. She had no way of knowing whether or not this was true, of course, but the thought made her feel a bit better nonetheless.

Papyrus closed the trunk of the car and began to gather all of her luggage together to carry inside. "Oh, no! You don't have to do that," Millie hurriedly told him, not wanting to trouble her new host.

"Nonsense!" Papyrus dismissed with a wave of his hand. "You are our guest! Meaning I am here to assist you in any way I can! It would be terribly rude of me to not do so! Besides, you are much too tiny and weak to carry everything yourself!" Well, he wasn't _wrong._ "Don't worry, though! A few weeks of training and you might even be as strong as me, the Great Papyrus! Nyeh heh heh!" Oh dear. So he _was_ interested in getting her to work out.

"Well, at least let me take _something_ ," Millie offered, side-stepping the topic of exercise. That was a subject to tackle at another time. "I'd feel guilty if I made you carry everything."

Papyrus's face scrunched up, visibly displeased with the prospect. "Very well," he relented. "I will allow you to assist. But. Do not take any more than you feel physically comfortable carrying."

Millie smiled. "I can do that," she agreed, glad that she wouldn't be completely useless. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and grabbed two of the smaller bags, leaving the two larger ones for Papyrus.

The pair walked up to the front of the house, Papyrus leading with a confident stroll with Millie close behind. For the first time she actually took in what he was wearing: a white button down shirt with black slacks. Dang. For a skeleton, Papyrus sure did clean up nice. She wondered if his brother dressed this well too.

As he set her bags down to open the door, Millie felt her heart began to race. This was it. It was time to meet Sans. She took several deep breaths to try and ease her nerves. Just calm down. Relax. It's going to be okay. There's nothing to worry about. Papyrus said everything would be fine, so everything _will_ be fine. Yes. Everything will be just-

"What sort of nonsense is this?!"

Millie jumped at the sudden outburst. Papyrus was desperately trying to open the door, jangling the knob every which way. However, despite his best efforts, the door remained firmly locked in place. "Is something wrong?" she asked tentatively. Did he lock himself out of the house? Surely he must have a key?

Papyrus huffed and crossed his arms, frowning heavily. "It would appear that my brother is up to his usual tomfoolery, for I cannot open the door!" Usual? This was normal?

He rapped a skeletal hand against the door. "Sans! This is no time for your japes! Cease your buffoonery at once and allow us inside!"

Millie could just make out a voice from the other side of the door, "Nah, bro. No can do."

Papyrus groaned. "And why ever not?"

"Gotta make a joke to come in."

Papyrus looked personally offended at this. "Excuse me?!"

"Yeah, bro. It's in the rules."

"I don't recall ever agreeing to such ridiculous terms!"

"Not my fault. Rule still stands. Too late to change it now."

Papyrus let out a mighty groan of frustration. "SANS, OH MY GOD WHY?!" Millie swore she could hear a chuckle from behind the door. He rubbed his skull for a moment before exhaling deeply. "Alright, fine." Begrudgingly, he knocked twice on the door.

"Who's there?"

"Open," Papyrus said through clenched teeth.

"'Open' who?"

"OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW OR SO HELP ME SANS I WILL! DO! SOMETHING! AND YOU WON'T LIKE IT! AT ALL!"

"Gee, bro, that's pretty harsh. And not very funny. 'm afraid I can't let you in. Not with that, at least. Sorry."

Papyrus began to shout at the door, causing Millie to shrink back in alarm. She had been silently watching the whole scenario, trying to process what she was witnessing. These were the people she was going to be living with. She was going to be spending the next _six months_ in their care.

Heaven help her.

She took a deep breath. It would seem the situation wasn't going to improve on its own. Well, if she was going to be living with him, she might as well attempt to get on Sans's good side. Hesitantly, Millie sidestepped around Papyrus, who ceased his yelling to give her a curious look, and stepped up to the door. Biting her lip, she lightly knocked two times.

There was a pause. "Who's there?"

"Lettuce."

"'Lettuce' who?"

"Lettuce in?"

There was a snort, and Millie heard a hand grab the handle. However, the door remained closed. "Wait," came the voice, "What's the magic word?"

Millie's eyes narrowed, trying to figure out what game he was playing.

"Lettuce in... _peas_?"

Millie heard an audible gasp from behind her as the door swung open. Leaning in the doorframe was a grinning skeleton ever so slightly shorter than herself, maybe only by an inch or so. To add to his casual air, he wore a blue hoodie, black basketball shorts, and...fuzzy slippers? "Sup?"

Millie blinked. "Hi."

Sans looked past her and his grin grew. Millie turned and was greeted with the sight of Papyrus gaping at her in complete and utter horror. "See, Paps? The kid gets it," Sans drawled, his voice oozing with amusement.

Papyrus recovered and scowled at him. Picking up the bags once more, he tromped past them inside, grumbling under his breath about terrible puns. Millie couldn't help but giggle.

Sans regarded Millie once more, focusing the two pinpricks of light in in his eye sockets on her. "You coming in?"

Millie started. "Oh, yeah. Hehe." She re-gathered her bags and stepped inside hastily.

Sans closed the door behind her. "So. You're, uh, the human, yeah?"

Millie turned back to him and shrugged. "Yep. That's me."

He shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. "So what was it again? Molly? Miller? Mells…?"

"Um, Millie," she answered awkwardly. "It's Millie."

If Sans had eyebrows, they'd be raised. "Riiight…," he replied, nodding slowly. Millie glanced around uncomfortably. Did he...always smile like that?

Sans shuffled up to her. "Well, _Millie_ , I'm Sans. Sans the skeleton." He stuck out a hand.

Millie stared at it for a moment. Hesitantly, she took his hand in her own and was treated to…

Her expression went from unsure to just plain dumbfounded.

No way.

"...Was that...a _whoopee cushion_?" Millie slowly asked in disbelief, eyes glued on the two hands still locked in place.

"Heh, yeah." She looked up at him. He winked. "Never gets old."

All Millie could do was let out a single, staccato laugh. This couldn't be real. There was no way that this was happening right now. How on Earth was she not dreaming?

Sans released her hand, shoving it back in his pocket. He looked her over. "You like jokes. Or, at least, you're smart enough to make 'em." It was an observation, not a question.

Millie shrugged. "I like jokes as much as the next person, I guess. I am rather fond of wordplay, though." She had always loved the power of language. Where her actions tended to fail her, her words could often make up for it.

"Huh," Sans replied, nodding. His gaze bore into her. God, why was he staring at her like that? "Paps is probably waiting for you. Back hallway, room on the left."

Millie nodded, still trying to recollect herself after the whoopee cushion incident. "Okay, thanks."

Sans shrugged. "S'no problem. After all, it's what I'm here for, right?" There was something about the way he said that that made Millie feel slightly uncomfortable. He began to amble away, not in any apparent hurry. "Just make yourself at home. Not that you needed me to tell you that. If you need anything, ask Paps." And with that, he had disappeared into what appeared to be the kitchen.

Millie was left alone in the living room. She gazed after him, hands still clutching her bags.

That...definitely did not go as she had expected.

* * *

Papyrus looked up as Millie entered what was to become her room. "MILLIE!"

She jumped, freezing in the door frame. "Um, yes?" she squeaked. Oh God, was he mad at her? Oh God, he _was_ mad at her. Oh no, _no._ What had she done this time?

Papyrus's face bore a heavy frown, his arms crossed. After a moment though, the tension in his skeletal frame collapsed, now just appearing to be weary. "Why did you not inform me that you were a fan of," his voice dropped to a mortified whisper, " _puns?_ "

Millie stared at him. Her body relaxed. "Is...there something wrong with puns?"

Papyrus grimaced. "There is when you have to live with them 24/7," he muttered crossly.

It would seem Sans took his joking seriously.

She gave him a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry, I'll try to lay off them, alright?"

Papyrus gave her an appreciative smile and straightened back up. "Thank you very much, Millie. I am most grateful to hear you say that."

"It's no trouble at all, really," Millie assured him, crossing over to the bed to set her bags down.

"Is there any other way I can be of service?" he asked eagerly.

She shook her head with a smile. "No, thank you."

"Very well then! I'll leave you to get settled in then. Dinner will be in about another hour or so. You shall be treated to my amazing spaghetti, so I hope you're ready for the meal of a lifetime! Nyeh heh!"

Millie's eyes lit up. She loved spaghetti. "That sounds awesome! I can't wait!"

Papyrus's eyes lit up. "Wonderful! I shall go prepare the pasta! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH!" He took off, and Millie could hear his laughter continue all the way into the kitchen. She giggled and shook her head, closing the door for a bit of privacy.

The room itself wasn't anything too fancy. Just a simple bed in the middle with a closet on the left and a wooden dresser with a large mirror above it on the right. Two nightstands sat next to the bed, one on each side. The one on the left had a small digital clock, and the one on the right had a little white lamp. On the wall behind her was a large picture of a bone. She smiled. A perfectly ordinary room in a perfectly unordinary house.

As she began to unpack her bags and put her clothes away, Millie thought over everything that had happened so far in this absurd day. She had found a friend in Bellatrice, and she reminded herself to find out where she exactly was staying at. Grillby was one of the host names, right? Maybe she could ask about them later at dinner. Spaghetti sounded really good right about now.

She'd also finally met her two hosts, Papyrus and Sans.

Sans...she wasn't so sure about. He seemed like a decent enough guy, but there was still something about him that just rubbed her the wrong way, though what it could be, Millie didn't have the faintest idea. Still, as far as first impressions went, it could've gone a lot worse. She'd at least managed to score some brownie points with her knock-knock joke, so it was a good start. Hopefully with time, they'd warm up to each other and everything would be fine and dandy.

Papyrus on the other hand was just a radiant ball of smiles and friendship. Except when puns were involved. Probably best to try and avoid those for now, though she wondered how possible that would actually be with Sans around.

It was not what she had expected.

It was not what she had expected at _all_.

But she liked it.

* * *

 ** _((( Hi, everyone! Thanks for all of the love and support you guys have shown, it really means the world to me! You guys are the best!_**

 ** _Now, I have a quick announcement. I'm going to start accepting writing prompts for this story. How, when, and even IF they'll be integrated will be up to me, but if there's something you'd like to see, anything at all, let me know!_**

 ** _If you'd like to send in a writing prompt, just submit it to my Tumblr page, "generalfabulous". You can also stay updated about the story or send in questions if you have any! I do art too, so I might just draw out an answer!_**

 ** _Anyways, thanks again for sticking with this thing so far! See y'all in the next chapter! )))_**


	5. Dinner and Drama

Millie sat at the dinner table, hands folded neatly in her lap. She shifted a bit uncomfortably in her chair, glancing up to see that Sans was in fact, still watching her from across the table. Papyrus had just called everyone out, declaring that his spaghetti was nearly done. While he bustled about the kitchen, humming and "nyeh'ing" to himself, Millie and Sans were left to sit in awkward silence and wait. His staring hadn't stopped since they had sat down. It would have been one thing if he had asked her a question or even spoke, but all he did was watch with that creepy smile of his. Seriously, was it just permanently stuck that way? Did he ever frown or do...anything else? It was unnerving, to say the least.

Finally, she'd had enough. If Sans was content to being a creep, then she'd have to take matters into her own hands. Millie took a sip from her glass of water and swallowed hard, steeling her nerves. "So," she began, absentmindedly playing with her silverware, "You're interested in science?" Perhaps she could start a conversation, get to know him a bit better.

Sans cocked his head, a hint of surprise in his eyes. "How do you figure?"

"Papyrus mentioned it on the way over here," Millie explained. "From the meet and greet." _The one you didn't show up at_ , she thought sorely.

"Ah." He gave a single nod, not really seeming to care too much. "Yeah, I guess you could say that, heh."

When he didn't offer any more, Millie felt her frustration being bumped up a notch. It would seem that getting information out of him was going to prove to be rather difficult. Millie had enough trouble socializing with people to begin with, so the fact that Sans wasn't cooperating was more than a bit disheartening. Still, she was a patient person. She'd crack through and get to know Sans, whether he wanted to or not. "What kind of science?" she inquired. "Biology?"

"Nah. Fleshy bodies and stuff doesn't really interest me." He winked at her. "No offense."

"None taken." Silence. "So what then?" Millie pushed, determined to get something out of him.

For a moment, Sans didn't respond, and Millie was afraid she'd hit a brick wall. Finally, he closed his eyes and shrugged with disinterest. "Mostly physics. Astronomy."

Aha! Another piece of the complicated puzzle that was Sans. So he was a slipper-wearing skeleton with a love of physics, stars, and puns. She didn't have a lot to work with yet, but Millie had to admit, Sans was turning out to be quite the character. She wondered what else lay hidden behind that permanent grin of his. Whatever he was keeping buried, she would unearth it yet. Just give her time and a shovel.

Before she could ask any further questions though, Papyrus came strutting out of the kitchen wearing a bright red apron that read "Bone To Cook". In his hands were several plates of spaghetti. Millie smiled at the sight. Papyrus was no less eccentric than his brother, and he was much easier to work with.

"Dinner is now officially ready for your consumption and pleasure!" he announced proudly, setting a plate down in front of everyone with dramatic flair.

"Thank you very much, Papyrus," Millie thanked him as he took a seat adjacent to her.

"Yeah, thanks, Pap. You're the best," chimed Sans.

"I know!" replied Papyrus with a confident smile. "But I appreciate you acknowledging this fact nonetheless."

Millie giggled and picked up her fork. She last thing she had eaten was a breakfast sandwich at the airport that morning. That had been hours ago, and she was positively starving now. The fact that her first meal in her new home would be pasta only added to her excitement to eat. She wondered if this was a common meal in the house; she certainly hoped so. As Millie was about to take her first bite of the spaghetti, however, she noticed Sans' grin grow in size as he watched her. It gave her pause. What was that look for? Feeling a bit more hesitant, she put the noodles in her mouth.

Oh.

Oh dear.

The spaghetti wasn't... _bad_ per se, but it wasn't very good either. The noodles were quite undercooked, and the sauce seemed to be...burnt? Millie glanced over and spotted Papyrus watching her with eager eyes. It was with a tremendous amount of effort that she managed to swallow the mouthful and give Papyrus the most honest smile she could muster. "You...certainly have a unique way of cooking pasta, Papyrus," she said, treading carefully. "I can't say I've ever had spaghetti quite like this before."

"Well that's because you've never had spaghetti made by me!" he stated with pride.

"You're right, and I'm glad I've gotten the chance to," Millie told him as earnestly as possible. "Thank you very much."

Papyrus beamed from ear to ear. Well, he would have been, if he had ears.

Millie glanced over at Sans and noticed a subtle shift in his features; his gaze was a little softer and his smile a little more genuine. Or at least that's what Millie convinced herself she was seeing. She was still trying to adjust to recognizing the nuances of people who lacked facial muscles. Perhaps she was finally cracking through that outer shell of his.

"So, Millie," Papyrus began. "Where exactly is it you are from again?"

"Florida," she answered after forcing down another mouthful of noodles. "It's down south, by the ocean."

"Ah! I see!" Papyrus turned to his brother. "Sans, did you know that it does not snow in this Florida place?"

"Really? Doesn't sound like that _cool_ of a place then," Sans replied with a wink.

Papyrus buried his face in his hands. "Sans, please, not at the dinner table."

"Oh come on, bro. Just _chill_ out."

"SANS, I SWEAR."

"Paps, look at me, stop giving me the _cold shoulder_."

Papyrus's head snapped up and he pointed a fork dangerously at his brother. "Sans you stop this _right this instant_ or SO HELP ME I WILL BURN YOUR SOCK COLLECTION."

Millie took a sip of her water. "Sans, I think he's pretty serious. You might want to put your puns _on ice_ for right now."

Sans completely lost it, tumbling out of his chair in a laughing fit. Papyrus turned to Millie looking utterly betrayed. " _Millie_ , not you too! And after you agreed to stop too!"

But Millie was having a giggling episode of her own. "Sorry, Papyrus," she managed to get out. "I couldn't help myself." Sure, she had sort of gone back on her word, and she did in fact feel a bit guilty about doing so, but the moment had been worth it.

Papyrus, defeated, looked down at his brother who was still chuckling on the floor. "Sans get up and finish your dinner."

"Hehe...okay, bro, hehe...okay." It took him a while, but Sans finally made it back into his seat, still snickering. "So...Florida. No snow?"

"Nope," confirmed Millie. "It's just a lot of heat and rain, really."

"So...is it like Hotland?" asked Papyrus.

"Well, what's Hotland like?"

"It's really hot!" he replied enthusiastically.

Millie laughed. "I gathered. So, maybe?"

"Does Florida have rivers of magma?" asked Sans, a lazy grin on his face.

Millie's eyes widened. "What? No! No, nothing like that! Is that what Hotland is like? You guys lived around... _magma_?"

"Of course!" Papyrus answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Is that not normal on the surface?"

"No, not really," she laughed in disbelief.

"Remember, kid, we were _underground_ ," said Sans. "Things work a bit differently down there."

She shook her head. "I guess so, heh." Millie's eyes lit up as she remembered something. "Oh yeah! Do either of you two know a...a Grillby?"

Sans eyed her. "Grillby?"

She bit her lip. "Yeah, I think that's what the name was. There was also another name….Cinder...Ember-"

"Embry."

"Yes!" Millie smiled. "So you know them?"

Sans leaned back in his chair. "Maybe. Why you askin'?"

"Sans, please sit properly at the table."

"Sorry, bro."

Millie fought back a giggle. "Well, a friend of mine is staying with them, and I was wondering if you could maybe point me in their direction. Just so I could meet up with her sometime, you know?"

Something shifted in Sans' expression. He began to casually play with his spaghetti. "Huh. So Grillby's doin' the whole 'human' thing too. Interesting."

Millie's brow furrowed. What on earth was that supposed to mean?

When it became clear that Sans wasn't going to say any more on the matter, Papyrus turned to her with a tired smile. "Grillby owns a local eatery here in town," he explained. "Sans frequents it quite often." He grimaced. "Personally, it's much too greasy for my liking. Ugh."

Millie glanced back and forth between the two. "Oh." She pursed her lips. "Well...maybe, Sans, you and I could go there sometime," Millie suggested. That would be a good way to get to know him, and she'd even get to see Bellatrice in the process! Two birds with one stone, right?

Sans regarded her from across the table. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "Yeah. Maybe."

Millie frowned. Dang it. Any ground she had just gained with Sans seemed to have been lost already. But why? Hmph. It would seem that jokes alone wouldn't be enough to crack through his defenses. But crack them she would. She just needed to figure out how.

For now though, she'd try to shift gears. "Is there a library in town?" While she had brought plenty of books of her own, she had been dying for the chance to peruse the town's local collection. Books by monsters! The very notion made her giddy with excitement, and she couldn't wait to sate her curiosity.

Papyrus's face lit up. "Indeed! In fact, we have a rather large one! Sans and I go all the time!"

"Actually, bro, I think you're thinkin' of the _libriarby._ "

Papyrus grimaced. "I still don't understand how they managed to mess the sign up _again,_ " he muttered to himself, causing Sans to snicker. Papyrus gasped, a smile on his face. "Now that's an idea! Why don't we all go to the library tomorrow!"

"I'd love to!" Millie agreed eagerly. Yes! Monster books! This was so cool!

Papyrus clapped his hands together. "Splendid!" He turned to his brother. "Sans?"

Sans had his fork raised and was studying it with a bored expression. "Eh," was all he replied with, not appearing very committed to the idea.

Millie felt her smile fall and her shoulders slump. Papyrus's own grin faltered, though he fought to keep it on. "Oh come on now, Sans. It'll be good to get out of the house! You haven't read any new books in so long. Plus it'll be nice to show Millie around. It'll be fun!" There was a pause. "Please?"

Sans set his fork down and gave Millie a long, hard look. She held his gaze, not daring to look away. Finally, he turned to Papyrus. "Sure, bro," he said with a gentle smile.

Papyrus gave him a grateful smile in return, placing a bony hand on his shoulder. "Thank you."

With that, Sans rose from the dinner table, grabbing his dishes, and headed back towards the kitchen.

Papyrus began to rise as well. "Millie, are you done too? I'll go ahead and take your things."

Millie nodded. "Thank you. I actually think I'm gonna head to bed now."

He winced a little at this, but kept smiling. "Really? A-are you sure? We have movies and popcorn that we can all enjoy together!"

Millie frowned. That did sound like fun, but….She looked and could spot Sans idly moving about the kitchen. Her stomach twisted at the thought of any more uncomfortable interactions with the skeleton. "No thanks," she politely declined, rubbing her arms.

Her heart sank as she watched Papyrus's smile vanish. Poor Papyrus. Today did not seem to be going his way at all, no thanks to Sans. Why was he ruining this for his brother? "Ah-okay. Yes, well, you've had a long day. Perhaps another time."

"Yeah, definitely," she quickly reassured him. "Because I for one _love_ movies and popcorn."

He smiled softly. "Well, go ahead and get plenty of sleep. I hear humans need a lot of that, and you'll certainly need it for all of the awesome book adventures we'll have tomorrow!"

Millie giggled. "Alright, I will. Goodnight, Papyrus."

"Goodnight, Millie!"

Millie began to walk to her bedroom but stopped abruptly. After a moment of hesitation, she called out into the kitchen, "Goodnight, Sans."

She waited, and though she could barely make it out, she thought she heard a, "G'night," in response.

She smiled weakly.

It was something.

* * *

Millie sat down on the edge of her bed, straightening her dress. She reached across to the dresser and turned the camera on.

One of the requirements was that each of the humans keep a video diary over the course of their stay. They were required to record at least three times a week, and at the end of the six months, the diaries would be collected for posterity or...something. Odds were, they would be factored into the decision of how to proceed with the whole monster/human relations thing. They weren't supposed to let their hosts know about the diaries though; Millie figured it was so they couldn't potentially influence what was being said and such.

"Alright, so, hi. I'm Millie Webb, age 20. My hosts are Papyrus and Sans. This is Day 1 of the Ebott Experiment, video entry number one."

She took a deep breath before diving in. "So! Um, yeah, this has been an interesting day, to say the least. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that all of this is really happening, that I'm not going to wake up in my bedroom. Like, this," she gestured to the room around her, "is my room now. I'm in a town full of monsters. Monsters! I mean, wow!" She shook her head in disbelief. "It's insane. It's nuts. It's...it's a whole lot of nuts.

"Anyways, I made a friend at the airport. A human friend. Bellatrice. Bellatrice...Potts? Yeah, Potts. She was...really nice. I liked her, and I want to go see her again sometime soon. She's staying with two monsters named Grillby and Embry. Grillby apparently owns a restaurant of some kind. Sans likes it, but Papyrus doesn't. Hopefully I can go sometime. Maybe I can convince Sans to take me, but I may end up just having to look for it on my own.

"So, I got to finally meet Papyrus at the meet and greet, which was...interesting. He's a skeleton, which is probably the last thing I expected. Not that it's a bad thing! It's just...weird. Like, he's a skeleton. I have one of those, inside of me. It's just something I'll have to get used to. He's really nice though! He's a super sweetheart, and I'm glad I'm going to get to know him. His cooking though...heh, maybe that's something we can work on a bit while I'm here. Yeah...yeah, it's going to have to be worked on."

Millie's shoulders slumped. "And then...there's Sans. He...wasn't at the meet and greet. Well, he _was_ there, at least to begin with, but he left. For some reason. And I think that reason might have been me. I...I don't think he likes me very much. I don't know why, but he's just been acting a bit...icy towards me. Heh, oh yeah, we were making cold-related puns at dinner, and that was a lot of fun. In fact, for a little bit, it seemed like he was opening up some, and everything was really nice! Which is why it really sucked when Sans reverted back to his distant self. He seems like a really nice guy! I _want_ to be his friend! But...it seems that maybe he doesn't want to be mine, and I don't know what to do about that. I wish I knew what the problem was, because then we could talk about it and I could try to fix it or something. But I don't, and it's really frustrating. And upsetting. It hurts. I hope we can be friends, I really do. Otherwise, I don't know how I'm gonna survive here for six months.

She took a moment to wipe her eyes, which had become watery. "Ambassador Frisk was _awesome_. I mean, I've read so much about them and seen them on TV and stuff, but holy cow, just being in the same _room_ as them was a completely different experience. Like, that speech they gave today was something else altogether. It really inspired me. I hope I can actually meet them face to face sometime. That would be amazing; I could thank them for choosing me to be one of the participants."

Millie looked down at her hands. "I'm...still not sure if I'm the most qualified candidate for this whole thing. I mean, I'm glad I got chosen! I really, really am. It's just...I dunno. I guess I'm just afraid of letting everyone down. I don't want to be the human who screwed everything up for the monsters. I've never had so much responsibility, it's really scary. I...I don't want to fail them. I can't afford to mess up, or rather, _they_ can't afford it."

She sighed. "I guess I just need to stop doubting myself so much. I'm going to really try to take the Ambassador's words to heart. I've just got to be determined is all. If I can do that, everything will fall into place. Or at least I hope so.

"Papyrus said that the three of us would be going to the library tomorrow. That sounds like a lot of fun, and I'm really excited. I wonder how many books I can check out? Oh, I suppose I'll have to get a library card. Now that'll be a cool souvenir. Anyways, I'll have to wait to see how everything goes down then, so I suppose I'll report back here again tomorrow night.

"See you then."

With a click, Millie turned the camera back off and flopped backwards on her bed, hands on her chest.

For the first time in her life, she had no idea what to expect anymore. She could no longer plan or control her day to day encounters. The thought was simultaneously terrifying and exciting. There was no telling what tomorrow would bring.

All she could do was hope for the best.

* * *

 _(( Ugh, this chapter took a lot longer than I expected. Who knew bad spaghetti dinners could be so hard to write?! Anyways, I hope the wait was worth it! See you guys next time as we finally get to start exploring the town of Ebott! ))_


	6. A Trip to the Library

It was roughly a quarter to nine when Millie emerged from her room in her pajamas. The distant sound of clanging and faint smell of breakfast had lured her out, and, upon peeking into the kitchen, she spied Papyrus busying about, the bright yellow long-sleeve shirt he was wearing matching the cheery aura surrounding him.

He beamed upon spotting her. "Aha! Good morning, Millie! Awake at last, I see?"

Millie yawned a bit obnoxiously and smiled. She couldn't say it was a surprise to see him up at this hour; what with his seemingly boundless energy, Papyrus had struck her for an early riser. "Morning, Papyrus. How long have you been up?"

"Oh, since about five or so!" He turned back to his cooking. "I always get up early for a nice, refreshing jog around the neighborhood! You should join me sometime! We could be jogging buddies!"

Millie let out an awkward laugh. "Maybe sometime," she replied, having absolutely no desire to do so but not having the heart to flat out tell him "no". Goodness, it was even worse than she had thought. Maybe she'd have to consult Sans on how he managed to avoid his brother's physical activities. Not wanting to linger on the subject, she decided to focus on something else. "What're you making?"

"Eggs!" Papyrus held the crate up to show her with excitement. "I hope you like them scrambled?"

"Yeah, that sounds great, actually. Thank you," Millie answered with a smile.

Papyrus squeed and turned back to his cooking. "These should be done in just a few minutes, if you'd like to go ahead and take a seat."

"Sure, bro."

Millie nearly leaped out of her skin and became a mere skeleton herself at the sound of Sans from right beside her. She stared at him with wide eyes. When did he get there? How had he gotten there without her hearing? Sans, for his part, offered no explanation; with a sly wink, he casually strolled past her to the dining table.

"Oh, good! Sans, you're awake too!" Papyrus called back to him, still busy with the eggs.

"Yeah, bro. We've got library plans, remember? I figured you'd wanna _book it_ on over there as fast as possible."

"I'M SORRY SANS, I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUNDS OF MY AMAZING COOKING SKILLS!"

Millie couldn't help but giggle at the increase in volume from Papyrus as she followed Sans out to the table. After hesitating, she took a seat next to him. He didn't say anything, though, so if he minded, he kept it to himself. He had his arms folded on the table in front of him, his head resting on top, eyes closed, as if he were trying to fall back asleep. His blue hoodie from yesterday was absent; in its place was a green tee shirt that read "Geology Rocks". He looked rather tired, and Millie wondered to herself what time he'd have gotten up at if they didn't have any plans today.

"You know, some folks would consider it rude to stare."

Millie's face flushed in embarrassment. She quickly averted her gaze. "Sorry, I didn't mean to," she hastily apologized, not wanting to further ruin relations between the two of them.

Sans peeled open an eyelid to look at her. After a moment, he shrugged. "S'alright. Can't blame ya for admiring my good looks," he replied, his grin growing.

Millie's blush spread. Was he... _flirting_ with her now? "I-um, I don't...uh-"

"Kid, relax. I'm just _ribbin'_ ya," he said, sitting up and opening both eyes. "Jeez, heh, you sure do get flustered easily, huh?"

Millie scowled at him for messing with her like that. She hated whenever people purposefully tried to get under her skin, for it wasn't a very hard thing to do. Still, at least he was being conversational and not downright cold, so she'd take it. Now that she noticed it, Sans did appear to be in a slightly better mood this morning. Perhaps he had just had a rough day yesterday? Or maybe he just needed a good night's sleep? Whatever the case, Millie hoped the change in disposition would last.

"I have eggs!" sang Papyrus, interrupting her thoughts. He carried out two plates of scrambled eggs and set one down in front of each of them.

"Aren't you going to be eating with us?" Millie asked him, noticing the lack of a third plate.

"Oh no! I already ate earlier," Papyrus explained, his voice much too chipper for so early in the morning. "You two lazybones just focus on eating this delicious breakfast and getting ready! Then we can head on out when you're done! Nyeh heh heh!" Without missing a beat, he darted off into the living room and up the staircase to what Millie guessed to be his bedroom.

Millie shook her head and laughed. "Is he always like this?" she asked Sans. She found that she could get used to living with the charming skeleton, even with his impossibly high amount of energy.

Sans nodded, eyes gleaming. "Yep. My bro's pretty great, isn't he?"

There was a surprising amount of sincerity behind the statement that Millie didn't expect. Huh. Despite the tormenting through cheesy puns, Sans seemed to really care about his brother. It was rather sweet. She smiled. "He is," she replied as genuinely as possible.

Sans's grin grew. "You should try the eggs," he said after taking a bite of his own. "They're pretty _egg-cellent_."

Millie giggled a bit and tentatively took a bite, the memory of last night's spaghetti still haunting her taste buds. Her eyes widened. "Oh my gosh."

"What?" Sans asked, eyeing her curiously.

She shook her head, staring at the plate in front of her. "Sans, you lied. These eggs...they're not 'egg-cellent'."

His eyes narrowed a bit. "Oh yeah? Then, uh, what are they?"

Millie turned to look at him, her gray eyes huge. In a bare whisper, she replied, "They're _egg-traordinary_."

Sans simply stared at her for a moment before bursting out into laughter. Millie couldn't help but join in as well, his laughter contagious. They sat there for a moment like that, laughing like complete goofballs, isolated in their own little bubble of silliness.

Finally, Sans recovered. "I'll admit, you're pretty good, kid," he said, still chuckling. Millie felt her insides hum with joy. It was looking like things might just be improving between her and Sans after all.

Suddenly, San's smile started to fade, as if he just remembered some unpleasant memory. He picked up his plate, which to Millie's great confusion was already clean, and stood up. "You should get _cracking_ and get your- _shell_ -f ready. I know Paps is eager to get going," he said, casting her a sideways glance. Despite the punny content, the grin on his face looked less genuine than it had before. Millie barely had time to process what had been said before he hurried off into the kitchen.

She stared after him, mind reeling. What had that been about? Had she done something to upset him?

With a frown and a sigh, Millie turned back to her plate. Dang it. Oh well. It was best to just focus on getting ready for now. She'd have time to try and talk to Sans later. Maybe then she could figure out just what was going on in that skull of his.

* * *

It didn't take Millie long to finish her eggs and get herself together. She hadn't wanted to keep Papyrus and Sans waiting on her, so she had done her best to hurry. The weather wasn't too cold out, but she still wasn't used to the drastic drop in temperature from Florida where it was still a pleasant eighty degrees, so she opted for a simple orange sweater and jeans. Pulling her hair up into her trademark ponytail, she walked into the living room.

Sans, who was spread across the large couch that occupied the center of the room, gazed lazily up at her. "You ready to go?"

Millie nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Dang. That means I have to get up." He let out an exaggerated groan of effort as he sat upright and stretched. Millie merely rolled her eyes and laughed quietly to herself. "Yo, Paps! The human is ready!" he called up the stairs.

Abruptly, one of the upstairs doors burst open, revealing an excited Papyrus. He practically flew down the steps and landed right in front of Millie, causing her to take a step back in surprise. "You're ready to go?"

Millie blinked, heart still hammering after being startled. "Y-yeah, I'm ready," she replied with a nod.

Papyrus punched the air. "Then let us get going!"

Nobody moved.

Papyrus frowned and turned his head to Sans, who was still on the couch. "Sans, come on. It's time to go."

"Okay, bro." He slowly began to slide forward.

"Sans, seriously, get up, it's not that hard."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm getting up, bro." Sans somehow managed to roll off of the couch and onto the floor. "Hehe, whoops."

"Really?" Papyrus deadpanned.

Sans chuckled, still managing to shrug his shoulders despite being splayed across the ground. "Sorry. Guess I'm just being a bit of a _bonehead_ today."

Papyrus rubbed his skull for a moment before walking over to Sans. He looked down at his brother. "Do you need help?"

"Maybe."

Without waiting another moment, Papyrus had grabbed Sans by his arms and lifted him into the air, gently setting him back down on his feet. Millie recalled him doing the same to her just the day before. It was surprising to see the lanky skeleton perform such simple feats of strength as if it were no big deal. Maybe all that working out really had payed off.

Papyrus raised his brow bones at Sans. "Better?"

Sans closed his eyes and grinned broadly. "Yep. Thanks, Pap. Don't know what I'd do without ya."

"You'd never get off the couch, that's what!" Papyrus replied, hands on hips, to which Sans and Millie both chuckled. "Now come on! We've got a library to get to! Nyeh heh heh!"

To Millie's immense delight, the Ebott Library was only about a five minute drive away from the skeleton brothers' house. That meant it was easily within walking distance. Millie knew that was a trip she would make many times over the next six months.

The ride itself was mostly filled with Papyrus and Millie chattering idly about various differences between monster and human culture. Sans even threw in the occasional quip here and there as well, making the trip a generally pleasant one.

Finally, they arrived at their destination.

Millie approached the building with wide eyes. "Wow," she murmured, awestruck.

Before her was a large white marble building that seemed to resemble a temple in Athens more than a small town library. Then again, technically this was not a library, but a "libriarby", as the wooden sign in front of the building so kindly pointed out. Sans really hadn't been kidding. It was a rather comical juxtaposition, the grand building next to the simple, misspelled sign. As long as the books themselves weren't filled with similar typos, though, she'd be alright.

Her excitement got the best of her, and she took off up the steps. It was only once she reached the large entrance doors that Millie remembered she was not alone. Oh goodness, she had just gone and left them in the dust. Oops. That had been rather rude of her. Embarrassed by her eagerness, she waited by the entrance for Sans and Papyrus to catch up.

She didn't have to wait long. Papyrus grinned excitedly upon reaching her. "Welcome to Ebott Library, the surface world's only monster library!" he announced, opening the door for her. Giddy with anticipation though doing her best to reign it in, Millie thanked him and walked briskly inside, Sans right behind her, smirking at her behavior.

Millie gasped. It was even better on the inside. Everywhere she looked, there were books upon books upon books upon books. Bookshelves lined every wall and stretched from ceiling to floor, which was a considerable distance of at least fifteen feet.

She was in heaven.

"Do you like it?" asked Papyrus, slightly nervous at how quiet she had become.

Not able to tear her eyes away from the sight before her, Millie nodded numbly. "Yes. Yes, I do. Very, very, _very_ much."

Papyrus clapped his hands in delight. "Excellent!"

Sans snorted. "Hey kid, take a _page_ from me and calm down. Don't overstimulate your _-shelf_. You, uh, look like you're gonna pass out from excitement. Or something."

"Ha ha, very funny," Millie replied, giving him a sarcastic grin. Sans merely shrugged in response.

Papyrus looked down at his brother. "Now, Sans, I'll not have you ruining our library adventure with tomfoolery. This is a serious place for serious business. Do you understand?"

Sans winked up at him. "Sure, bro. Whatever you say."

Papyrus nodded, satisfied with the answer. "Good." He struck a pose. "Then let us commence the hunt for books!"

Millie didn't need to be told twice. In a flash, she was happily lost in a forest of bookshelves, weaving in and out of aisles, running her fingers along the spines. Her eyes darted about, unable to decide where to look. There was just so much to take in, she couldn't figure out where to even begin. It was overwhelming in the best of ways. She wanted to read every book on every shelf. If only she could take the whole library home with her. Books were a comfort, a reliable friend. They never judged or challenged her; they only wanted her to listen, and that was something she was quite good at. The scent and feel of the worn paper pages was therapeutic. It soothed her like nothing else could, and it was heartbreaking to know her time in this marvelous place was limited. Still, it was comforting to know she'd be able to return whenever she felt like it. If things ever got bad, she had a place she could run to to make her feel better.

Before she knew it, Millie's arms were full of books. They ranged a variety of subjects, both fiction and non-fiction, from the history of the royal family to the adventures of the legendary Stonemar the Brave. She had even found a book filled with classic monster fairy tales. The Ebott Library hosted the entire body of literature produced by monsterkind over the course of their entire existence. Millie was one of the only humans in the entire world to gain access to this vast collection, and she was going to take full advantage of it.

As she was perusing, Millie found herself in the culinary section. She skimmed the titles and pulled one out. _Real Deal Monster Meals_. Millie snorted at the corny name and leafed through the pages. A rather good looking pasta recipe caught her eye. Closing the book, she added it to her armload. Perhaps she and Papyrus could give the recipe a try. It could be fun. Plus, this would be a good way to ensure that future noodle-based meals would actually taste decent and not simply be "edible". As a pasta lover, Millie was not keen on having a repeat of the previous night's meal. Pasta should be enjoyed, not feared.

Satisfied, Millie went to round the corner and came face to face with another library patron. With a gasp, she slammed on the brakes, keeping herself from slamming into the other person, but the sudden shift in momentum still caused several of her books to leap from her arms to the floor below. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," she hurriedly apologized, scrambling to pick up the fallen books.

"Oh, sorry, let me help."

Millie looked up as the other person squatted down and handed her a book. To her surprise, it was another human. He looked to be in his late twenties, his short black hair well-kept. Behind a rather smart looking pair of glasses were two baby blue eyes that were focused intently on her face.

Hastily, Millie took the book and stood back up. "Thank you," she murmured, feeling a blush coming on.

The man rose to his full height as well. He was probably a foot taller than her. Why was everyone always taller than her? "Sorry about that."

"Oh no, it's fine. I'm sorry too."

"No, no, you're good." He smiled and offered a hand. "I'm Simon, by the way. Simon Taylor."

Millie shifted her books in her arms and returned the handshake. "Millie Webb, nice to meet you."

"Millie, huh? That's a different name."

"Um, thanks?" she replied, not sure how to respond.

He nodded. "It's nice."

Feeling her cheeks warm up, Millie scrambled to find something else to focus on. "So, um, what're you getting? What, um, books are you getting, I mean?"

Simon blinked in surprise and looked down at his own armload. He had significantly less books than Millie, but they were much larger in size than any of hers. "Oh, just a couple of books on monster culture and law. For research."

Millie cocked her head. "Research? What do you mean?"

"I'm a lawyer. Duke University," Simon explained. "I'm hoping that after this project is over, I can assist Ambassador Frisk in expanding opportunities for the monsters and help with any legal problems that may arise."

"Oh wow, that's fantastic," Millie replied, her eyes wide. Dang, that put her reason for participating to shame. At least Simon was _helping_. She just wanted to make friends. Why couldn't she be more useful too? Millie mentally frowned. Maybe that would be something to look into. She'd find some way to give back, something she could do to improve the monsters' situation. Yeah. She'd be useful. Somehow.

Simon smiled. "I just want to do what I can. What about yourself?"

Millie let out an awkward laugh. "Oh, nothing special. I just thought it'd be cool to meet some monsters, you know?"

Simon laughed. "Hey, that's as good of a reason as any," he replied. "I hope it has been cool for you?"

Millie nodded. "Oh yeah, definitely! My hosts are great!" Well, one was great. The other sort of teeter-tottered. It was a work in progress. "What about you?"

"Oh, yes. She's a real sweetheart," Simon replied with a smile. He glanced to the side where something seemingly caught his eye. "Oh! Speaking of which...Shyren, why don't you come meet my new friend?" Millie watched as blue-green fish girl floated timidly up to him. She glanced nervously between Simon's face and Millie's. Simon gave her a patient smile. "Shyren, this is Millie. Millie, Shyren."

"Nice to meet you, Shyren," Millie greeted warmly.

Blushing, Shyren ducked behind Simon. He gave Millie a sympathetic smile. "She's a bit...shy," he explained.

"That's okay. I'm pretty shy myself, honestly. That's one of the reasons I signed up, actually. I wanted to break out of my shell some, you know?"

Simon nodded. "I understand. You seem to be making good progress."

Millie rubbed her arms. "I'm trying." She hoped her efforts would pay off.

Shyren whispered something in Simon's ear. He gave her a nod and turned back to Millie. "We're going to go ahead and head on out now. It was nice to meet you, Millie."

"Yeah, it was nice to meet you too, Simon. And you, Shyren," Millie replied. "Have a nice day!"

"You too!" said Simon, walking away.

Shyren smiled weakly. "Bye, Millie," she said in a quiet voice before hurrying off after Simon.

Millie watched them go. They certainly seemed nice enough. She wondered for a moment if she'd see them around any more before resuming her library adventure.

* * *

"James...JAMES!"

A young security officer abruptly sat bolt upright in his chair, eyes wide with alarm. Hearing his name called, he looked frantically around the room for the source, his eyes finally landing on the walkie talkie on his desk. Sighing and scratching his beard, he picked it up. "Um...yeah! Yeah, I'm here. What's, uh...what's up?"

A female voice responded, "James, were you napping again?"

James groaned, falling back in his chair. "Becca, if you woke me up just to nag me, I don't really appreciate it." He _hated_ being nagged like this, especially by his co-workers. He hadn't taken this job just to be scolded for getting some sleep in here and there. After all, it wasn't his fault nothing ever happened. The monsters were pretty civil people; they hadn't exactly been trying to cause a ruckus. Quite the opposite, actually. In fact, he could only recall a handful of instances where a monster had even journeyed all the way out to his post at the city limits, and not one of them had been to try and cause any sort of trouble. Well, there had been that one skeleton who had given them the flowers covered in sneezing powder, but that had been pretty funny.

"What?" James could practically hear the scowl on Becca's face. "No, that's not - look, this is serious."

James leaned forward, suddenly interested. "Wait, serious? What do you mean?"

There was a pause. "We may have a problem," Becca answered at last, her voice wavering. "A very, very big problem."

"Well, what is it?" James asked.

"It-it must've happened last night. It wasn't here yesterday when I was here. I'm not sure when exactly it would've happened, though. We'll have to check the tapes to know fo-"

"Dammit, Becca, stop beating around the bush and just tell me what it is!" James was growing increasingly worried. Becca was always calm and collected. It took a lot to rattle her nerves. Meaning, if something was scaring her, it was bad.

He heard the sound of her taking in a deep breath of air. "There's a hole in the fence."

* * *

 **(( Hey, guys! Sorry this chapter took so long to get out! That said, I'm going to have A LOT more free time on my hands now, so chapters will be coming out more regularly. Hope this one was worth the wait, and I'll see you next time! ))  
**


	7. Truce

"Wow, Millie! That certainly is a lot of books!" Millie, Sans, and Papyrus strolled out of the library, books in hand. However, while the two skeletons only had one book each, Millie's arms were awkwardly wrapped around seven. She would have had eight if it weren't for the library's book limit, so it was with great reluctance that she was forced to put back a book on the history of Temmie Village. It would simply have to wait until next time.

Millie beamed up at Papyrus, nodding emphatically. "I really like books," she explained simply, hugging them closer to her chest.

"You gonna actually, you know, _read_ all of those?" asked Sans.

"Of course!" Millie answered confidently. "These will hold me over for a couple of weeks, maybe a month. I read a lot."

"You, uh, gonna do anything else?"

Millie looked down at her books. "Well, yeah, probably. Maybe. I don't know." She snapped her head to him. "Is there something wrong with just enjoying some quiet, alone time?"

Sans merely closed his eyes and shrugged in response. "Nothing at all. Just seems rather _bonely_ , in my opinion." He opened his right eye to look at her. "But hey, if you wanna hole yourself up and read all day, that's fine by me. Keeps me from having to make sure you don't get into any trouble."

Millie made a face. Keep her out of trouble? What was that supposed to mean? Did he think she was a troublemaker? That was absolutely ridiculous, as far from the truth as one could get. She _hated_ attention and was never one to break the rules. And what sort of trouble would she even get into? She didn't even know how she would go about getting into trouble, for goodness sake!

Or...maybe it was just an offhand comment and she was overanalyzing. She did tend to do that.

Still, the remark left a rotten feeling in Millie's stomach. She didn't like the implication that she'd purposefully cause ill will. She'd never do that. Her mind was already anxious enough with her constant fretting about coming across as rude or being a bother.

"Er, Millie? Is something wrong?"

Millie blinked, waking from her mental soliloquy. She looked up to see the slightly concerned face of Papyrus watching her. With a blush, she realized that she had completely zoned out for several long moments. "Y-yeah, I'm fine," she answered hastily, looking down at the ground.

Papyrus glanced back and forth between Millie and Sans. He frowned, but quickly turned it into a hopeful smile. "How about...we all go out and get some Nice Cream!" he proposed at last.

Millie smiled gratefully up at him. Papyrus knew how to make any situation better, it seemed. "That sounds wonderful."

Sans nodded in agreement. "Sure, why not."

"Splendid!" Papyrus's entire face lit up with childish delight. "It's just up the street. Follow me!" With that, he took off, causing Millie to scurry after him in an attempt to catch up while keeping all of her books in check, Sans trailing lazily behind.

"So...did you say we were getting... _Nice_ Cream?" huffed Millie, arms and legs quickly growing weary. "Is that...like...a brand or something?"

"Yes!" confirmed Papyrus. He glanced back and, upon noticing Millie struggling to keep up, slowed his pace considerably. She sent him a thankful smile. "They were quite the popular treat in the Underground. Every Nice Cream comes with a heartwarming message that's sure to brighten up anyone's day!"

"Aw, that's really sweet," Millie replied. Sans chuckled quietly behind her. Why was he laughing? She blinked. Wait. She had just unintentionally punned. She glanced nervously up at Papyrus. He didn't seem to have noticed. Good. She needed to say something else quickly though to keep him from realizing her offence. "I-I can't wait to try one! Do they...um...have lots of flavors?"

Papyrus nodded. "Oh yes! In fact, they have even more flavors ever since we came to the surface!" Millie mentally sighed in relief. He hadn't noticed. Crisis averted. "There's vanilla, blue raspberry, chocolate chip, coconut, ora-"

The shrill, banshee-like whine of a siren suddenly pierced through the air, drowning out every other sound. With a frightened shriek, Millie fell to the ground, hands over her ears in a desperate attempt to drain out the awful noise. Her books, now forgotten, lay scattered about her feet.

She felt something on her back and jumped, only to realize it was just Papyrus. He had crouched down and placed a hand on Millie in an attempt to comfort her. God she was glad he was here. "Are you alright?" he shouted above the wailing.

Trembling and terrified out of her wits, Millie nodded weakly. Desperately, she looked around for the source of the sound. Her eyes landed on a large speaker atop a very tall pole across the street. It reminded her of the ones she'd read about being installed in cities during the Cold War in the event of an atomic crisis. But that couldn't be why this one was going off, could it? Had some other nation grown so frightened by the monsters' existence that they had decided to take action and wipe them off the face of the earth? That seemed unlikely. She certainly hoped not, at least, and if that was the case, then that really was very rude and foolish of them. The government would not be happy about that at all.

However, Millie's fears about becoming the unfortunate victim of a nuclear attack were dismissed when a voice sounded from the speaker.

" _ **ATTENTION. ALL HUMANS AND MONSTERS ARE TO REPORT TO THEIR HOMES IMMEDIATELY. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."**_

Millie's heart dropped. Her whole body went rigid. Her lungs seemed to empty of all air, and she found herself breathing rapidly in a desperate attempt to get some oxygen back into her body.

The message repeated itself and continued to do so, further imprinting the haunting warning in Millie's mind.

" _Millie?"_

Not a drill? Oh God, what did that mean?

" _-lie!"_

What was happening? What was going on?

" _Plea-, -e -ave to go!"_

What was she going to do? Why did she have to be here?

" _Sa-s, -lp me!"_

Was she going to die? Oh God, she didn't want to die! She didn't want to die here!

" _-at? We -an- -st lea- -er here!"_

This couldn't be real. There was no way this could be happening.

" _-ans, -eas-!"_

This couldn't be-

"HEY!"

Millie gasped as she felt the sudden presence of two cold, skeletal hands on her cheeks, firmly holding her face. She blinked and took in Sans' pinprick eyes glowing intensely at her. Had he and Papyrus been trying to get her attention? She hadn't even noticed. "You with me?" She gave a nod. "Good." Sans let go of her face. "Now come on. We don't have time for this, we gotta get going. _Now._ "

Numbly, Millie turned to look at the ground around her. All of the library books she had checked out littered the sidewalk. "Books," she mumbled, reaching out for one that lay wide open to a random page. "I gotta...get them…"

"Dammit," Sans cursed, snatching up the book Millie had been reaching for. "Papyrus, help me with these."

Hastily, Papyrus began to gather the fallen books as well. Millie merely sat and watched, her whole body shaking. Oh dear, they were doing everything for her. Why was she so useless? She couldn't even pick up her own books. What was wrong with her? Why did she have to go and get so many? What if they didn't make it back to their home in time because of her and her stupid books? God, she was putting them all in danger right now. They must _hate_ her. Why were they being so nice?

Sans abruptly jerked Millie up onto her feet. She wobbled for a moment but kept her balance, his hand on her arm holding her steady. She wanted to thank him, but her voice didn't seem to be working. All she could do was stare at him blankly.

Sans looked up at Papyrus. "Come on, we'll take a shortcut."

"But what about my car?"

"We'll come back for it," Sans replied tersely, shaking his head. "There's one right around the corner. Grab onto her and follow me. _Quickly._ "

With that, Sans took off, not sprinting or even jogging, but serious speed-walking. Even in an emergency, it seemed he couldn't be bothered to run. Millie didn't even process Papyrus's bony hand holding hers. She had shut down completely. Her legs moved of their own accord as Sans dragged her along. Everything around her was merely a blur, she didn't know where she was or where she was going. She blinked, trying to regain her senses, but her head felt fuzzy.

Suddenly, Millie was overcome with dizziness and nausea. The whole world felt topsy-turvy, as though a giant tidal wave had just washed over her and she was swimming around in a panicked confusion, desperately trying to find which way was up so she could reach the surface and breathe.

As abruptly as it had come, the feeling passed, and the world returned to its normal state of being. Millie felt her stomach lurch and her knees buckled. However, when her hands met the ground, it was not cement that greeted her but rather a hardwood floor.

Hardwood floor?

Blinking, trying to come back to reality but failing miserably, Millie realized she was back in their living room.

How…?

"Millie!"

Papyrus was beside her in an instant. She squinted at him, but his features were blurry; it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to focus on much of anything. "Oh dear. Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Millie had just enough time to tell him, "No," before sending her breakfast all over the floor. It didn't taste as good the second time. Papyrus gasped. Sans cursed to himself. "Sorry," she whimpered.

"Oh my gosh! Millie, are you broken?! Sans, what should we do?!"

"She just puked, she's fine," Sans answered. Millie noted how stressed he sounded. "Probably due to the shortcut. But I think she's gone into shock."

"Is that bad?"

"Can be, but not if we act now."

"Should I get her some water?"

"Yeah...wait. No, no, don't do that. Shit. Um, what did it say again?" The voice sounded muffled. A cloudy image of Sans suddenly entered Millie's field of vision. He turned to Papyrus. "Go grab a blanket, I'll take care of her." She felt more than saw the tall skeleton leap up and sprint away.

"Here." Millie felt Sans' hands on her arms, gently guiding her down to the floor so that she was lying on her side. He paused. "Wait. Was it side or back? No. It was side. She vomited, so side. And then, um…" He ran a hand over his skull. "Legs. Right. Kay. Hey, can you hear me?"

"Yeah?" Millie managed to whisper; though his voice was fuzzy, she could still understand him.

Sans nodded. "Kay, good. I'm gonna need you to lift your legs, alright? I'll help, don't worry. We're gonna get them on the coffee table. Can you do that?" With some effort, Millie managed to weakly raise her legs. She felt Sans lift them higher and carefully rest them atop the little wooden coffee table. "There."

"I've got the blanket!" A loud pair of footsteps came to a halt just behind her. "I got the fluffiest one I could find. It has racecars on it!"

"Heh, good job, Pap. I'm sure that will _speed_ up her recovery."

"Sans, this is not the time for puns."

"No, you're right, bro. Sorry."

A sudden warmth spread throughout Millie's body. She hadn't realized how cold she had been until now. She hummed with appreciation, cracking a smile.

Sans snorted. "Yeah, I think she likes it. Kay, you stay here, I'm gonna go get some stuff to clean this up with. Make sure she doesn't move." He rose to his slippered feet and briskly walked away.

"Millie? How are you feeling?"

Millie's vision was beginning to return, and her breathing grew steadier. Papyrus's voice sounded clearer as well. "Better," she answered quietly. "Thank you."

"You are most certainly welcome!"

Sans returned with an assortment of cleaning supplies and got to work. "How're you holding up, kiddo?" he asked without looking at her.

Millie smiled weakly at him. "Good. Thank you." She frowned. "I'm sorry about all of this."

"Now don't you start apologizing, Millie! That was really scary back there! And not everyone can be as brave as me, the Great Papyrus!" He paused. "Though I do wonder just what that was all about…"

Sans continued with his scrubbing. "Dunno, bro. Could be anything."

Papyrus gave a hum of displeasure. "Still, this whole situation is unsettling to say the least. I can't say I'm too fond of it."

Millie's senses were coming back online, bit by bit. A sudden thought occurred to her. "Why weren't you guys as affected by the siren?" she asked. Now that she thought about it, they had hardly seemed fazed by the noise at all.

It was Sans who replied. "Drills. Lots of them. In the event of an emergency. Like, uh, now."

Millie watched him work. "Thank you for helping me back there."

Sans paused in his cleaning.

Millie heard Papyrus take in a deep breath behind her. "You don't have to thank us for that, Millie," he stated very matter-of-factly. "We are your friends, and we will help you through any troubling times that you may find yourself in." There was a pause. "Right, Sans?"

Sans looked over at Millie, his eyes glowing dimly. He held her gaze for a long time. Finally, he blinked and turned away. "Yeah…yeah." Sans shook his head, letting out a humorless laugh. "Just don't pull that sort of thing again, kay, kid? I won't always be around to bring you back to your _sans-_ es."

Millie smiled at the pun, but it quickly turned into a frown. "So, what do we do now?"

Gathering the cleaning supplies up, Sans stood. He still wasn't looking at her. "We wait."

* * *

Several hours of absolute nothingness passed. No one could leave the house as the entire town was still under lockdown, so everyone was left to amuse themselves until the "all-clear" was given.

Millie, who was feeling better but still fairly faint, was curled up on the couch with Papyrus's blanket draped over her, reading one of her library books. It was a cheesy teenage love story called _I've Got My EYE On You_. It involved a young girl named Iris, a Loox monster (a strange sort of cyclops creature), desperately trying to win the affections of a local boy named Waltzer, who was a Migosp (a rabbit-like monster). She was already nearly halfway done. It was quite silly, but after today's events, it was just what Millie needed.

Papyrus emerged from the kitchen, causing her to look up. He raised the bowl he was carrying. "I have prepared some soup for you! I've been told this is especially good for ill humans!"

Millie smiled warmly at him. "Thanks, Papyrus. You're the best."

Papyrus puffed his chest out proudly. "Of course I am! But you are pretty great yourself!"

Millie giggled, and he came over and handed her the bowl. She took a sip. It was pretty good. It would seem as though Papyrus was actually pretty good at cooking. Except spaghetti. Why oh why did the one thing he couldn't make well have to be spaghetti? It hurt Millie's heart to think about it. Still, she wasn't about to complain, not whenever she had a delicious bowl of soup in front of her.

"Does it taste alright?" Papyrus asked nervously, wringing his hands.

"This soup," Millie began, locking gazes with him, "Is without a doubt the best soup I have ever had."

Papyrus gasped, his hands flying to his mouth. "Really?!"

Millie nodded with all the seriousness she could muster. "Absolutely."

Papyrus's entire body shook with joy, making a "clickety-clack" sound as his bones rattled, and his entire skull turned red. "WOWIE!"

Millie couldn't help but laugh. God, she was glad she had been assigned to live with him.

Once he had regained his composure enough, Papyrus came to sit next to her on the couch. "I'm really glad you're feeling better. You really had us really worried back there!"

Millie set her book aside, marking her place; it would seem she wouldn't be reading any more right now. "Yeah, me too." She frowned at the soup bowl. "It was so scary. I...I've never been that scared before in my life. It was like, I just sort of shut down, you know?" Her stomach twisted. "I...don't know what would've happened to me if I were alone."

She suddenly found herself in Papyrus's bony embrace. Millie gripped the bowl, making sure none of its contents accidentally sloshed onto the floor. "Let's not worry about that, okay? Because you're here safe and sound with us! And that's all that matters!"

Millie smiled up at him. "Yeah, Pap. I'm glad I have you guys."

Papyrus squeezed her a bit tighter, though she didn't mind. "Me too, Millie."

A sudden knocking from the door caused the two to jump, effectively ending their moment. Papyrus lept to his feet and sped over to the front door. Millie, clutching the bowl of soup to her chest, peered over the back of the couch to see who was paying them a visit.

Papyrus opened the door. "Hello, sir!" he greeted the stranger enthusiastically. Millie couldn't see who he was addressing from her position, much to her annoyance. "How may I, the Great Papyrus, assist you today?"

"Heh, hi there, uh, Papyrus," replied the stranger; his voice had a young but husky tone to it. He sounded friendly enough. "My records show that you have a brother and a human staying here with you? Is that correct?"

"Yes! It is!" Papyrus turned to her, all smiles. "Millie, come say hello to the friendly officer!"

Officer? Oh dear. Hastily, Millie set down the bowl of soup on the coffee table and stood up, wrapping the racecar blanket around herself. Still a little woozy, she shuffled over to Papyrus and turned to face the stranger. Standing in the doorway was a man who, to no one's surprise, was at least a foot taller than her. He had brown hair and a scruffy beard to match, and he was dressed in an official looking dark purple uniform. He was actually...really cute. Millie felt her face heating up. "Hi," she greeted shyly, rubbing her arms.

"Hello!" the stranger replied warmly. "I assume you must be the human. Millie Arial Webb, right?"

Millie simply nodded in response.

"And I'm Sans."

Millie jumped with a squeak, clinging to Papyrus at the sudden sound of Sans right behind her. How did he _do_ that?

Sans walked around Millie to greet the man. "Afternoon, officer! To what do we owe the pleasure?"

The man laughed. "Oh, ha. I'm not a police officer. I'm just a security guard." He paused, narrowing his eyes. "Wait a second...you're that little shithead who brought the sneezing powder flowers!"

"Sans!" Papyrus glared down at his brother, hands on his hips. "Did you actually pull one of your practical jokes on this kind man?!"

Sans's eyes widened, perspiration appearing on his forehead. Millie tried her best to refrain from giggling. It would seem he had been caught red-handed. "Um, heh, yeah? Hehe?"

The man laughed suddenly. "No, no! It's all good! It was actually really funny!"

Sans lit up at this. "Really?"

"Yeah! Becca was sneezing for the rest of the day! It was great!" The man chuckled at the memory. "Oh, yeah, I'm James, by the way. James Duff. Nice to meet you folks."

Sans beamed. "See? At least _someone_ appreciates my jokes," he said, looking up at his brother with a smug grin.

Papyrus rolled his eyes, choosing to ignore the comment. "Excuse me, James?" he questioned, placing a hand on Millie's shoulder. "I'm sorry to ask, but could you possibly tell us what exactly is going on?"

James rubbed the back of his head. "To be honest, not a lot is known at the moment, and I'm not really allowed to share what little we _do_ know. But um, there was a breach in security, so we're checking to make sure everyone's home where they're supposed to be." He shrugged helplessly. "That's all I can really say at the moment, sorry."

Papyrus nodded knowingly. "I understand. Is there anything else we can help you with?"

James shook his head. "Nah, you guys are good for now. Just stay indoors until we give the all-clear. We've only got a couple more neighborhoods to go, so it shouldn't be much longer now, maybe a couple more hours."

"Right, well we'll keep waiting here until then!"

James smiled. "Awesome!" He gave a wave and turned to leave. "You folks take care!"

"And you too, James Duff!"

"Have a nice day!"

"See ya, buddy!"

Papyrus closed the door. "What a friendly young man!" he declared. "I'm certainly glad we have people like him around!"

Sans began to shuffle away. "Heh, yeah. Sure is great havin' all these humans watching out for us."

Millie watched him leave, clutching the blanket close.

Papyrus looked down at her. "Millie, is something wrong?"

Millie shook her head. "No, I'm okay." She rubbed her arms. At least, that's what she told herself.

* * *

Millie's eyes snapped open. Had she fallen asleep? Scrunching her face up, she tried to recollect as much of the evening as she could remember.

Just as he had said, the all-clear siren had gone off a couple of hours after James had stopped by. After the day's events though, nobody really had any desire to leave the house, so everyone simply stayed indoors.

She remembered that Papyrus had made everyone grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner, and it had been _really_ good. Her theory about his cooking seemed to have been proven correct, and Millie made a mental note to have that cooking session with him soon. The sooner he learned how to properly make spaghetti, the better.

After that, they had watched some re-run episodes of Mettaton's show. Millie had seen clips before on the internet, but this was her first time watching the actual thing. It was...interesting to say the least. She couldn't say that she was the biggest fan of the flamboyant robot, but Papyrus seemed to adore him. To each their own, she supposed.

Millie realized she must have fallen asleep during their little marathon at some point, for she was curled up on the couch, and Papyrus was no longer beside her. She sat up and yawned, stretching. She should probably go crawl into her own bed to avoid being rudely awoken and possibly dragged into Papyrus's early morning routine. That wouldn't be pleasant at all.

"Bout time you woke up."

Millie felt her heart attempt to take a swan dive clear out of her chest. Closing her eyes, she took the deepest breath she could possibly take before opening them back up and looking to her left. There in the nearby armchair was Sans, sitting as casually as ever while reading his own library book. He hadn't even looked up from the page to address her. "It's a little after ten-thirty," he continued, turning the page idly. "Paps went to bed a little while ago."

Millie simply watched him, her mind an ocean of questions. She honestly didn't know what to say to him anymore. Should she even say anything? During her pondering, she noticed what book he was reading, and it caught her a bit off guard. " _The Andromeda Strain_?"

Sans looked up at her, blinking. "Hm? Oh, yeah, heh. What about it?"

"I didn't know you were a fan of Crichton."

Sans shrugged. "I'm not. Just thought it sounded interesting. Why, are you?"

Millie returned the shrug. "Not really. I read _Jurassic Park_ and really liked it, though. You'd probably like that one. It's about humans recreating dinosaurs and attempting to make a giant amusement park full of them."

Sans raised a browbone. "Attempting?"

"It doesn't exactly go as planned."

"Meaning…?"

"All the dinosaurs get loose and start killing people."

Sans snorted and returned to his book. "Sounds like the kind of dumb shit humans would do, yeah."

She paused. "I thought you said you didn't like biology?"

"Huh?" Sans looked back up, the question catching him off guard.

Millie met his gaze. "Last night, you said 'fleshy bodies and junk' didn't really interest you."

Sans's eyes narrowed a bit. "It doesn't. Does that mean I'm not allowed to read a book that has biological aspects to it? Cause, heh, that's rather _marrow-_ minded of you."

Millie shook her head, ignoring the pun. "That's not what I mean."

She had his full attention now. "Then, uh, what exactly _do_ you mean?"

Millie bit her lip. "How did you know how to help me today?"

"Help you with what?"

"The shock. You knew exactly what I needed and how to help me recover. That's not exactly common knowledge. So I want to know, how did you know what to do?"

Sans stared at her for a long time. Millie wondered if he was ever going to answer, or even move for that matter. At last, he closed his book with a sigh, setting it aside. "You really wanna know?" He sounded tired.

Hesitantly, Millie nodded.

"Research," Sans answered. "Lots. And lots. Of research."

Millie waited for him to continue. When he didn't, she asked, "Why?"

"To make sure I'd be prepared in case you decided to pull some stupid shit like today that could jeopardize everything."

Millie flinched. This was not the answer she had been expecting. "I don't understand."

Sans squeezed his hands together, and when he spoke it was in a low but deadly serious tone. "You don't know how long I've waited for freedom, kid. You don't know how much I've endured, how much I've gone through, to be where I am today. To have my brother and I here, on the surface.

"Ever since we got here, though, you humans have done nothing but harass us, enforce countless regulations on us, everything. I get it, we're different. Your kind doesn't like our kind. And you take every opportunity to remind us of this fact. We can't leave this damn town. Your military has us under constant surveillance. I have to constantly worry about one of you idiots breaking in here and attacking my brother out of hate. We're like a scary freak show put on display. All we need now are the tourists to come and ogle at us. But you know what? We've put up with it. We've been civil and complied with every bullshit demand.

"And yet, despite _all_ of that, we could lose everything because of you. One bad word from your little mouth could mean the end for my brother's and my life up here. This life that we've only _just begun_ , gone like that. Because at the end of the day, who's your government gonna believe, huh? Even if everything that comes out of your mouth is a dirty lie, who'll they listen to? Us, or you?"

Millie shook her head furiously, eyes wide with shock. "I'd _never_ do that."

"Yeah? And how can I trust you? I've only known you two days, and you hold my life in your pink, fleshy hands. Your kind doesn't exactly have the greatest track record, so how can I know you won't be any different?"

"So why did you volunteer to take me in then?" Millie interrupted, her body shaking.

"I didn't." Sans glanced up the stairs. "It was Papyrus who wanted to do this stupid thing, not me. I can't say I was surprised when he told me he wanted to sign us up; this sort of thing is right up his alley. I tried to talk him out of it, but he was pretty adamant. Eventually I had to cave in. Heh, it's kinda hard to say no to him, you know?"

Millie didn't respond. Her eyes were watery.

Sans sighed, his eyes softening. "Look, kid-"

"Can you please not call me that?" Millie cut in, her voice wavering. "I'm twenty years old, I'm not a child."

Sans winced. "...Millie," he corrected, "You seem like a nice person. Really, you do. My bro likes you, and you seem to get along with him well enough too. I don't want to hate you."

"So why do you?"

"Because despite all of that, you could still screw us over. Even if you become our best friend and never say a bad thing about us, if you somehow get hurt or something happens to you, who do you think is gonna get blamed?"

Millie's eyes grew. "But...what if it's just an accident?"

"Doesn't matter," Sans replied, shaking his head. "You're under our care, making you our responsibility. So if something goes wrong, it's gonna be our heads on the chopping block. You get what I'm saying? You're nothing but a giant threat to our future, and I'm not about to let you take that from us."

She couldn't take it anymore. Millie began to sob, clutching her legs to her chest and burying her face in her knees. She had had no idea. Oh God. Her little episode today could've ruined _everything_. If Sans hadn't taken the time to do research on his own, where would they be at right now? Millie didn't know what happened to a person if their case of shock went untreated, but she couldn't imagine it was anything good. Could she have died? Would Sans and Papyrus have been put on trial for manslaughter? Oh God, the more she thought about it, the worse it got, which only resulted in her crying harder.

"Whoa, whoa! Hey, geez. Um, shit, hang on."

A moment later, Millie felt a gentle poking at her side. She looked up to see Sans sitting next to her on the couch, a box of tissues on his lap. He offered her one. Gratefully, she accepted, blowing her nose. Sans made a face. "God, humans are gross."

Millie sniffed, setting the now drenched tissue beside her. "Sorry…"

Sans sighed heavily. "No, no it's fine."

"No, it's not." Millie hugged her legs. "I'm sorry, for everything," she murmured. "I didn't know. I never meant to put you guys in any sort of danger or anything. I didn't mean to make your lives miserable." She closed her eyes. "If you want, I can see about leaving tomorrow. I don't want to be a burden to you. I'm sure they'll be able to carry on with only ninety-nine participants. I'll-I'll just tell them I got homesick and couldn't handle being away from my mom. That sounds believable, right?"

Silence filled the air.

"Dammit, you're making it really hard for me to hate you, you know that?"

Millie opened her eyes and looked at him. His eyes glowed softly. "I'm...sorry. It's not your fault that we're in this cruddy situation. And it's not exactly like you can do anything to fix it either." He looked away. "I've been a bit of a jerk. And I shouldn't have. But I was. So...I'm sorry."

Millie stared at him in shock. He was actually apologizing? She hadn't expected that. Did that mean their relationship could still be salvaged?

Biting her lip, Millie offered her hand. He looked down at the offered appendage in equal surprise. "So...can we call a truce to all of this?" Millie asked tentatively. "Cause, I'd really like to be friends, if you want."

Sans stared at her hand for a few moments. His smile grew. "Sure. I think I can do that."

He grasped her hand with his and shook it. The two shared a smile.

For the moment, all was well.


	8. Tensions

A dark figure slunk through the quiet neighborhoods of Ebott. They avoided the sidewalk with its luminescent streetlights, opting to move from lawn to lawn instead. They stopped beneath one window and listened.

Silence.

With a frustrated sigh, they moved along to the next house, repeating the process again and again.

The figure had been doing this for nearly two hours now. So far they had found no luck. There had been a few hopefuls, but nothing was quite right. For example, they had stumbled upon a house with a young girl and a seemingly female fire monster. The girl herself was a solid candidate; it was the monster who was the problem. Sure, the monster could _potentially_ work; the problem was that they weren't equipped to use someone made entirely out of fire. For this job, they needed someone more...solid.

The figure looked up at the next house. There was a dim light streaming out of the far ground-floor window. So, not the overhead light, but perhaps a table lamp. No visible curtains obstructing the view, either. They grinned, their smile glinting in the darkness. Looking good.

Slinking along, the figure paused underneath the window, straining their ears. There were two voices: one male, one female, both quiet. The female's in particular had a youthful quality to it. The male's was deeper, but still young as well, though older sounding than the female. The two didn't seem to be right by the window, maybe closer to the center of the room. So far so good.

Now it was the moment of truth. The figure slowly stood to the side of the window, careful not to let any part of their body be shown, and pulled out a small mirror. Angling it with the care and finesse of someone who'd done this many times before, they looked into the mirror, spying upon the unknowing pair just mere feet away.

The female was a human, very young looking, perhaps eighteen? Small, skinny, white, pretty. Body language read as closed off, not confident, vulnerable. Perfect.

Now for the monster. Small, in fact slightly smaller. Not enough to really matter in the grand scheme of things, though. A skeleton? Hm. That was interesting. Not what they'd had in mind, but it could work. Little white glowing eyes. Not sure how that worked. Mouth didn't seem to be changing much in shape. Was it stuck in a perma-grin? If so, that was a plus. Shoulders were tense, appeared stressed, frustrated even.

Quickly but stealthily, the figure retreated to the side of the house and took a knee. Hurriedly, they pulled out a pen and notepad and scribbled down the address and details. Yes, this would do nicely. Was it ideal? No, no, it could be better. But for all intents and purposes, this would suit their needs just fine. Of course, they were still going to stay on the hunt in case they found a much better match, but should they not, then they at least had a solid back-up plan.

With haste, the figure capped the pen and replaced it along with the notepad and mirror into their pocket. Taking one last look around for good measure, they darted off into the darkness, vanishing from sight.

The quiet monster street remained as quiet as before, as if the dark figure had never even been there.

* * *

"MILLIE! WAKE UP!"

Millie shot bolt upright in bed, sheets clutched to her chest in alarm. Her heart was hammering at a painful rate. What was going on? Was there some sort of trouble?

Papyrus had slammed open her door and was standing in the doorway, eye sockets huge (how was that even possible?). "Ah good! You are awake now!" Millie's sleepy brain bit back a retort. "Now quickly come join us in the living room!"

Millie rubbed her head, glancing at the bedside clock. It was five till eight. Ugh, this was too early for her. And it was _especially_ too early for Papyrus's uncomfortably loud voice. "Um, okay? Why? What's...what's going on?"

"Frisk is about to give an important announcement on the television!"

Millie blinked sleepily, head cocked. "Frisk…?"

Papyrus ogled at her as though Millie were brain dead. Which, truth be told, she kind of was at the moment. "You know….Frisk!" he repeated, waving his arms for emphasis.

It took a moment for Millie's brain to piece the bits of information together. Her eyes grew wide with realization. "Oh! The Ambassador!"

"YES! FRISK!"

Millie hastily stumbled out of bed. If the Ambassador was making an announcement, it _must_ be important. She certainly didn't want to miss whatever they had to say.

Millie's body shivered as her bare feet made contact with the wooden floorboards. Oh gosh, it was cold in here. Was Papyrus aware of how chilly it was? He didn't have skin or flesh, but then again that didn't stop him and Sans from doing things like blink and sweat, so maybe? Shaking her head, Millie grabbed her mint green bathrobe from her closet, quickly putting it on. There. That was slightly better, at least. "Alright, alright, I'm coming," she mumbled, shuffling out the bedroom.

Once she was clear of the doorway, Papyrus sped past Millie down the hallway and leaped straight onto the seat of the armchair. The sudden rush of him taking off nearly sent her flying to the floor, but with some frantic arm waving, she was able to save herself. Tripping and falling on her face. Now _that_ would definitely not have been a good way to start off the morning.

As she approached the couch, Millie spotted Sans seated on the far end, looking equally tired. No surprise there. Half asleep, she plopped down next to him. "Papyrus get you up too?" she asked in a lifeless monotone, focusing on the TV in front of them.

Sans stared straight ahead as well, his usual grin looking particularly ingenuine. "Eeyup."

Millie looked over at him. "You look as dead as I feel."

Sans let out a single small laugh. A moment later, several more laughs escaped him, though this time much louder. He then let out one final laugh that sounded more like a sob than anything else, sinking into the couch as he did so. "I'm so fucking tired…" he moaned pitifully, covering his face with his arms.

Papyrus gave him a scowl. "Sans! Watch your mouth!"

Sans's reply was muffled by his arms.

"What was that?"

"I said I can't do that, bro," Sans repeated, shifting his arms upwards so they still covered his eye sockets yet left his mouth unobstructed. "My mouth's on m'face. Can't see it. Can't watch whatcha can't see."

Papyrus merely stared at Sans for a moment before burying his face in his hands, moaning, "I give up."

Millie giggled sleepily. Three things were growing increasingly apparent. One, monsters really were just as human as...well, humans. Two, Sans was most certainly not a fan of early mornings. And three, Papyrus could only handle so much of Sans's shenanigans.

Millie sighed. Since it would seem that there would be no returning to the world of dreams, she might as well try to make the most of being awake. Blinking drowsily, she turned to Papyrus. "So...Ambassador Frisk is giving a speech or something?" she asked.

Papyrus nodded, looking up at her. He looked grateful to have a distraction from his brother's joking. "Yes! It must be something very important! Frisk doesn't make announcements very often."

"Really?" For some reason, this fact surprised Millie. Then again, now that she thought about it, it wasn't as if the President gave public addresses every week, so why should the Ambassador be any different?

"Yep," replied Sans, finally uncovering his face. He glanced at her. "Kid ain't the biggest fan of talking. Not exactly helpful when you're, you know, the Ambassador and it's kind of your job, but what can you do?"

Millie blinked in surprise raising her eyebrows. "Oh wow, really? But, that speech they gave to us when I first got here! It was amazing!" Just thinking about the way they had spoken with such passion was enough to give her chills even now.

Sans let out a laugh. "I said the kid wasn't a fan of talking, not that they couldn't. Kiddo's pretty good at knowing how to win people over. How else do you think they made it through the Underground?"

"I suppose you have a point there," Millie admitted.

Sans's statement gave her pause, though. How _did_ the Ambassador make it through the Underground? The way Sans had said it seemed to imply that they had been in some sort of danger. But...that didn't make any sense. All of the monsters were so nice! Millie couldn't recall seeing or hearing anything about monster acts of violence. And she certainly hadn't run into a mean-spirited monster yet. So, where was the danger?

Truth be told, no one really knew the exact events that took place in the Underground leading up to Ambassador Frisk freeing all the monsters. They had remained quiet on the matter, leaving many to speculate what sort of odyssey the child had been on. Millie could only imagine what their journey must have been like.

Still, the Ambassador _must've_ known what they were doing when bringing the monsters to the surface. Surely they wouldn't unleash some kind of threat on humanity, or at least not knowingly. And they certainly wouldn't approve of humans living with monsters if there were a reason to believe it was dangerous.

So why would they have needed to know how to win people over? What sort of opposition had they faced?

Something wasn't adding up.

"Hey...you okay?"

Millie blinked back to reality. God, she really needed to get a better handle on her thoughts; it was far too often that she found herself trapped in her own head. Sans was giving her an odd look. Why would that be? With a jolt, Millie realized that she must have been making faces while thinking. The thought made her insides squirm. "Yeah! I'm fine!" she answered, perhaps a bit too hurriedly.

Sans nodded but didn't say anything. His eyes lingered on her face for a moment before turning back to the TV. Millie could only guess what he had seen there. Hopefully nothing that would threaten the fragile friendship they had only just formed.

"Ooh! It's starting!" Papyrus cried out, causing Millie's head to whip back to the television screen.

Sure enough, there on the screen was Ambassador Frisk. They were seated behind a desk and staring straight into the camera. Unlike the last time Millie saw them, though, they looked quite serious and tired. That air of confidence and joy seemed to be gone completely. She felt a tinge of pity for the kid. Whatever was going on had to be taking a pretty heavy toll on them, especially for one so young.

"Good morning, citizens of Ebott," Ambassador Frisk began. "I hope all of your day's have been going well so far."

They took a deep breath. "Yesterday, as you are all aware, the emergency sirens went off." Everyone in the living room sat up a little straighter. It was looking like they were going to be getting some answers. "Security discovered that a large gap had been made in the town's outer perimeter fence, a gap big enough for someone or something to get through. It was discovered early yesterday morning, however, we believe it was made sometime during the night prior. Unfortunately, it seems that key video cameras were rendered useless at the time, meaning we lack any footage of the perpetrator."

"Shit," Sans muttered, shaking his head. Papyrus kept his eye sockets glued to the screen, wringing his hands together. Millie grimaced. Whoever they were dealing with was definitely bad news.

"Yesterday afternoon," Ambassador Frisk continued, "You all were visited by a member of our security team. Their results showed all monsters and humans were accounted for, meaning no one was missing.

"So, at the current moment, it appears we are dealing with one of two scenarios. The first is that someone within the town, human or monster, either attempted to or successfully snuck out of Ebott two nights ago and returned in time before they could be caught. The second is that someone or something from the outside broke in and entered our town without anyone knowing.

"If it is the first, then let me make something abundantly clear." The Ambassador leaned forward and looked into the camera with eyes full of sympathy. "I do not want to press criminal charges against anyone, monster or human. If this was your doing, I am giving you until midnight tonight to come forward and turn yourself in. All charges will be lifted and you will be free to go." Their eyes narrowed. "However, should you not come forward and we discover that you are in fact responsible, you will be held accountable and you will be arrested. So please, don't make this any harder than it has to be."

The Ambassador sighed. "If on the other hand, it is the latter scenario, if someone has indeed invaded our town, then I ask that all of you listen carefully. Keep an eye out for anything or anyone. Listen, watch, pay attention. If you find something, _anything_ , inform security immediately. It doesn't matter how small or insignificant the detail may seem, just please report it. Above all, though, I ask all of you to _stay safe_. Don't go anywhere by yourself; make sure you either always have someone with you or that you are at least in a public place where others can see you. The soldiers stationed here as well as our own security team have been alerted of the situation and are on guard. They are here to protect you, and protect you they will. Just please, don't make that job any harder on them than it has to be."

Ambassador Frisk put on the strongest looking smile they could. "I know this is a bit of a scary situation, but rest assured, we are doing everything we can to sort this out. So in the meantime, I ask that you all stay determined to live your lives as normally as possible. We will keep you informed on any updates that we make.

"Thank you for your time. I hope you all have a wonderful day."

The feed cut. Papyrus turned the television off.

Sans shook his head, running a hand over his skull. "Geez, this is worse than I thought."

"And poor Frisk looked so tired," Papyrus added glumly. "Ever since we got here, they're always working. I so desperately wish to give them a break, perhaps play some games or solve some puzzles together, just like old times."

"Kid shouldn't have to deal with this sort of stuff," Sans agreed, his own tone somber as well.

Millie shook her head, bringing her legs up close to her chest and hugging them. "This is insane. This isn't what I signed up for." Her third day in Ebott had barely begun, and now she was learning that there may be someone with ill-intentions lurking in the town. Just what might they be planning? Was her life possibly at stake? What about Sans and Papyrus? What about Bellatrice? What about anyone? She shivered. "Ambassador Frisk said we'd be safe here," Millie murmured, "But every day I feel less and less so."

Sans snorted, causing Millie to snap her head over to look at him. Did he really find her fear _amusing_? "Oh come on, Mills," he drawled casually. "You sayin' you don't trust us to keep you safe? _Tibia_ honest, I take personal offense to that."

Millie narrowed her eyes, shaking her head. "I'm not sure what you're getting at. I mean, of course I trust you guys! Why wouldn't I?"

Sans eyed her. "So, uh, what's the problem?"

"Well, I mean, you guys can only do so much," Millie replied with a helpless shrug. "I'm not trying to sound rude, I promise! It's just...there's some unknown threat out there right now. We don't know who or even what it is. They could be planning...pretty much anything! A bomb! An assasination! Anything! And you guys, well, you can't protect me from everything."

Papyrus frowned, rubbing his chin. "That is a very valid point, Millie. Even two individuals as amazing as my brother and I can't be a completely unstoppable force against the evils of the world." He perked up. "But! We can certainly try! We shall do everything in our power to ensure your safety during your stay in Ebott! Right, Sans?"

Sans winked at Millie. "Yeah, don't sweat it, Mills. We've got your back, kay?"

Oddly enough, Millie found herself believing them. She really, honestly believed that these two were going to look out for her. Her own skeleton bodyguards. The thought made her insides glow with warmth. Millie smiled at them. "You two are literally the best, you know that?"

Papyrus nodded knowingly. "I did, but Sans could stand to hear it a bit more."

Sans shrugged. "Eh. I'd argue that there's better, but thanks anyways."

"Oh shush, you totally are," Millie told him, giving him a playful shove. She swore she saw his grin grow a little bigger. "Really though, you guys are honestly the best hosts I could've asked for. I know my mom would feel-"

Wait.

Millie's eyes widened.

Oh no.

Sans and Papyrus shared a look of confusion. "Umm, Mills?" asked Sans. "You, uh, gonna finish that sentence?"

"My mom."

"...Yeah?"

Millie's whole body had gone stock still, her eyes round like a deer in headlights. She was staring straight ahead, her gaze unfocused. "I gotta call my mom," she murmured in a barely audible tone.

Sans raised a brow-bone. "Um, what?"

Millie's head whipped to the side to face Sans so fast it looked like it could've gone flying off, causing him to jump back a little. " _I gotta call my mom_."

Sans glanced to Papyrus for help. He merely offered a shrug. "Umm, okay? So, uh, call her? Maybe?"

"I GOTTA CALL MY MOM!" Millie yelled at a volume neither of the skeleton brothers had thought she was capable of. In a flash, she had lept off the couch and taken off in the direction of her bedroom. However, in her haste, one of her feet caught on the bottom of her bathrobe, causing Millie to fly to the ground and land with a splat, face down.

Well, so much for a good way to start off the morning.

"Oh geez!"

"Millie!"

Sans and Papyrus scrambled over to her, crouching beside her fallen form.

"Millie, are you hurt?"

"You okay, Mills?"

Millie, still face down, took in a deep breath of air. "I…I…"

In the blink of an eye, Millie was back on her feet and full on sprinting down the hall, practically screaming, " **I GOTTA CAALLL MYYY MOOOOOOOOOOM!** "

Sans and Papyrus merely stared with wide eyes at the room she had disappeared into, stunned into disbelief. That had been unexpected, to say the least. "Heh," Sans laughed at last. "Kid's kind of a freak, isn't she?"

"Sans, don't sa…" Papyrus drifted off. He glanced down at his brother, a faint smile on his face. "...maybe just a bit."

Abruptly, Millie slid out of the bedroom, her every feature screaming with panic. "My phone's not working!"

Sans cocked his head. "Um, what do you mean?"

"I mean MY PHONE'S NOT WORKING!" Millie yelled back, gripping her hair. "There's no signal! No bars, nothing! I can't call my mom!" She paused, and the color seemed to drain from her face. Her breathing became rapid. "Oh God. That means my mom hasn't been able to contact _me._ Ohhh my gosh, I'm dead. I am so dead, I am so very very dead. I am deader than the deadest thing in existence. Dead dead dead dead-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy there, buddy," Sans said, going over to her. "Slow down, okay? Deep breaths. In and out, nice and slow and easy." Maintaining eye contact with him, Millie managed to steady her breathing. "You okay?"

With a giant gulp of air, Millie nodded. "Yeah, thanks," she replied earnestly, still a bit frazzled. Sans seemed to be really good at keeping her grounded. He just sort of radiated this air of composure and relaxation, and Millie found herself absorbing it appreciatively. Knowing how frequently and easily she could go into panic-mode, the thought that she'd have someone who could bring her back to a functioning state of being was definitely reassuring.

Millie rubbed her arms. "I still need to call my mom though," she told them anxiously after she'd calmed down a bit more. "I was supposed to call her when I got here, but I didn't, and it's been three days!"

"Oh dear, that's not good at all!" said Papyrus, wearing a worried frown.

Millie nodded. "She's all I have," she explained, "And I'm all she has. She's probably tried calling at least fifty times by now and is freaking out."

"Like you?" questioned Sans.

"Yes! Exactly like me! Except times seventeen!"

Sans whistled. "Seventeen, huh? That's a pretty high rate of worry."

Millie gave him an exasperated frown. "Sans, please don't act like that. I just really really need to let her know I'm okay."

"Well," Papyrus spoke up, "You are free to borrow my phone to make this ever important phone call!"

Millie clutched her hands together, eyes watering. "Oh my gosh, really? Thank you so so much, Papyrus, I love you so much right now."

Papyrus's cheekbones flushed a bit at this, and although Millie didn't notice it, Sans stiffened a little behind her. "I...care a lot about you too, Millie!" He struck a heroic pose, momentary embarrassment gone. "Of course I would offer my services to a friend in need! Why, to not do so would make me a horrible friend indeed! In fact, I wouldn't be a friend at all! I'd be some kind of a big mean phone-hogger!"

Millie giggled. "Well thank you for not being that."

Papyrus beamed. "You're welcome!" He whipped his phone out of his pocket in an over-the-top manner. "Now, what's your mother's number?"

Relieved, Millie rattled off the phone number. Gosh, she didn't know what she'd do if she didn't have the two skeletons. Silently, she sent a thank you to whoever paired her with them.

Hopefully, her mother wouldn't be too mad at her. Millie's mother had always been extremely overprotective, which was why it was such a surprise that she had been so supportive of Millie being selected for the Ebott program. If everything went well, her mother would just be relieved and glad that everything was going well with no problems or yelling or scolding or anything.

However, after Papyrus had dialed the number, rather than hand the phone over to Millie, he held it up to his own skull. Millie's face twisted in confusion. Wait, what? What was he doing?

Someone picked up after the second ring. Papyrus grinned amiably. "Hello, ma'am! I am the Great Papyrus! I'm calling because my good friend Millie-"

There seemed to be an increase in volume on the other end. Papyrus nodded. "Yes! Yes! Millie! So you are her mother then!How wonderful! Well, I-"

The person on the other end, Millie's mother, was shouting now, though Millie couldn't understand what was being said. Oh dear, this didn't look good. Papyrus's face screwed up a little. "What? What have I done with her? Why, I've welcomed her with big skeletal arms! Under my superior care, she has been well fed and accommodated for! Even yesterday, when she found herself ill due to the day's troubling events, my brother and I helped her make a speedy rec-"

Millie's mother's voice went hysterical. Finally, Millie couldn't take it any more. "Papyrus, please give me the phone!" she begged.

Making a face at the screeching phone, Papyrus hastily handed the device to her, wringing his hands. Behind her, Millie heard Sans snicker quietly. She shot him a dirty look before holding the phone up to her ear.

"-OW YOU BETTER NOT HURT ONE HAIR ON MY BABY'S HEAD OR SO HELP ME I WILL-"

"Mom! Mom! It's me, Millie! Calm down!"

"...Millie?"

Millie breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes! Yes, it's me. Hi."

Suddenly, sobbing could be heard on the other end. "Oh my gosh! Millie! I've been worried sick! Why didn't you call me?! Why haven't you been answering your phone?! Are you okay?! Who's phone are you using?! Where are-"

"Mom! Mom! Please, please, hang on! Everything's okay!" Millie gave Sans and Papyrus a helpless look and whispered, "I'll be back, sorry."

Papyrus nodded, still looking a bit disappointed that his phone conversation had taken such a drastic turn southward. Sans simply gave her a thumbs up, smiling that ever-present smile of his.

Hastily, Millie spun around and went into her room, closing the door behind her.

* * *

"So you have _no_ signal?"

Millie shook her head, then, realizing her mother couldn't see her, said, "No, and I don't know why. I'm sure once the Ambassador finds out about this, they'll do something to fix it, or something. Hopefully."

Fortunately, once Millie had been able to actually talk to her mother and explain the situation, things had calmed down considerably. It was moments like these where Millie could easily see where her high anxiety came from.

"But right now you're using...Pepper's…?"

"Papyrus, Mom," Millie giggled. "And yes, I'm using his phone. I can't use it all the time though, because, well, it's his phone. He kinda needs it, you know? That would be rather rude."

"And you said they were _skeletons_?"

"Yep! Pretty crazy, huh?"

"Yeah, that's pretty crazy alright. Isn't it...a little bit creepy though?"

Millie paused and thought for a moment. "Not really, no," she replied at last. "I mean, it was kind of weird at first, definitely. And sometimes it still kind of is. But I don't really find myself thinking about it too much. Like, I can clearly see by looking at them that they're skeletons, but I've just sort of accepted it. That's just who they are. They're just people, except minus the skin and organs and stuff."

Her mom laughed. "Well, I have to say I'm proud of you. I know I could never do what you're doing now."

Millie smiled. "Thanks, Mom. I...I really miss you."

"I miss you too, baby. It's so quiet around here, I've been going insane!"

"It's been the exact opposite here," Millie said with a laugh. "There's hardly been any peace and quiet at all!"

"Well, I won't keep you any longer, I'm sure those boys are eager to go on some adventure or another with you."

"Ha, you're probably right." Millie grinned to herself. She had to admit, she had been enjoying spending time with Sans and Papyrus. She found herself hoping that they had some sort of plans for today. Or at least, plans that included her.

"Alright, well, just keep me updated, okay? I understand you can't exactly call as often as I'd like, but just let me know how you're doing from time to time. Please?"

"Yeah, I can do that."

"And I don't care whether you want to or not, if either of them tries anything, you call me instantly, understand?"

Millie's face transformed into a tomato. "Mom!"

"I mean it, Millie!"

"Okay! Okay, jeez! Just...stop. Augh!"

Her mother sighed. "Okay. I love you."

"I love you too, Mom. Talk to you soon."

Millie clicked the phone off with a sigh, wiping away the tears that had started to bubble forth.

* * *

Much to her surprise, when Millie opened the door, she found Papyrus and Sans there waiting for her. Sans's grin seemed abnormally large. "Um, hi?" said Millie, glancing between the two of them, unsure of what to make of the scene. Had they been listening? Judging by the fact that they weren't acting like they had been caught in the act, she figured not, but still. If not that, then why were they hovering outside her door?

"Everything go okay with your mom?" Sans asked casually.

"Uh, yes? Oh!" Hastily, Millie handed the phone back to Papyrus. "Thank you again so much for letting me use it, Papyrus."

Papyrus merely waved a hand in dismissal. "It was no trouble at all! I'm just glad your mother has nothing to worry about now! Because she was very worried! And that made ME worried! I was worried because of how much SHE was worried!"

"Heh, yeah. That's my mom." Millie rubbed her arms, smiling awkwardly. Why were they still just standing there? Were they really both just waiting for Papyrus's cell phone? No, they must want something. But what? "So, um, what's up?"

" _Well_ ," drawled Sans, "It's been such a crazy morning, Paps and I were wondering if you wanted to hit up Grillby's. For uh, lunch. Or brunch. I dunno, whatever floats your goat."

Millie looked up at Papyrus. "But I thought you said you didn't like it there?"

Papyrus glanced away. "Well, I can't say I'm too fond of it, no. But, while you were on the phone, Sans brought it up to me, mentioning how you had expressed interest in seeing your friend. So I decided that I would in fact go, if only to meet your friend! Because any friend of yours is a friend of mine!"

Millie's face lit up. She looked at Sans. This was his idea? She couldn't believe it. Just two days ago, he hadn't shown any interest in hanging out with her. And now he was offering to take her to Grillby's. It would seem he really was trying to be friends with her. Now she just had to make sure she didn't do anything to screw this up.

Sans gave her a wink. "So, whaddya say? Howzaboutit?"

Millie smiled eagerly. "Yes! Totally!"

* * *

 **(( Hey guys! Sorry for the super long wait on this one!**

 **Prompt featured in this chapter: Millie tripping**

 **Want to submit a writing prompt of your own? Check out my Tumblr! Just look up generalfabulous and send a prompt my way!  
**

 **See you guys in the next chapter! It's time to go see Bellatrice again!))**


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